


Unlikely

by happymartyr



Series: Unlikely: The Big Picture [1]
Category: Original Work, Unlikely - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Cliche as Hell, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Field Trip, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, High School, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M, Slow Burn, one (1) plot-related explicit scene..........
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-04-25 17:00:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 28,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14383047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happymartyr/pseuds/happymartyr
Summary: The classic tale of a bully and a victim falling in love. No twists, no odd endings, just an exploration of two characters who slowly become friends, and eventually progress to something more.





	1. Chapter 1

There’s a certain energy that enters with a certain person. Scottie can feel this energy coming in waves before he even hears the other student’s voice.

“Hey, Scottie! Suck any dicks in the boy’s bathroom lately?”

Scottie keeps his head in his book, focusing on reading about Richie Tozier’s return to Derry to reunite with his friends in order to defeat an evil entity that traumatized them early in their childhoods—

“I’m talking to you, gaylord!”

The heel of Vinn’s palm knocks against the back of Scottie’s head, and suddenly Scottie’s head is in his book in a more literal sense. He lifts his head from the desk, dog-earring the page he’s on before closing the book and sliding it aside. Vinn doesn’t seem to think that reaction was enough, as he starts snapping his fingers in front of Scottie’s face.

“Did the fairy go deaf?” he asks the other kids around him, earning a couple laughs.

“Don’t get too close to him, Vinn! He might try to kiss you,” someone from across the room says.

“Would a wet willie get his attention?” Vinn asks teasingly, poking Scottie in the side of the head. “I used to do that all the time in middle school.”

Scottie lifts his head. “That’s a bit gay, isn’t it?”

Vinn laughs. “Are you trying to say I’m a fag? Please.”

Scottie doesn’t respond. The teacher enters the room, and Vinn hops off the desk and into his seat.

Class goes by uneventfully, with Scottie shoving his nose back into his book without Vinn’s help this time. As soon as the bell rings, the book is tucked under Scottie’s arm and he starts for the door. He hopes he can avoid more contact with Vinn, but alas, the universe didn’t deem him worthy of a few seconds of peace.

“Say, have you ever been on the other side of a glory hole?” Vinn throws his arm around Scottie’s shoulders. Vinn is much taller than Scottie, so it’s easy for him to tighten his grip into a headlock and practically lift him off the ground- which is exactly what he does.

“Lay off!” Scottie says in a strangled voice. Vinn laughs in his ear and hikes him up before dropping him. Scottie loses his footing and crashes to the ground, landing on his knees. The lone strap of his messenger bag digs into his shoulder and his book slides across the linoleum floor.

Scottie stays down, knowing the routine by now. Vinn grabs the back of Scottie’s shirt and yanks him up slightly.

“You’re fucking lucky I’m in a good mood today. Get out of my sight, ugly fuck.”

Scottie gets to his feet and continues on his way to the lunchroom, grabbing his book up off the floor as he passes it. He makes it into the cafeteria without further issue and sits down next to his two closest friends.

“Vinnigan?” Connie asks.

“Yep. He’s in an okay mood today, though. He only put me in one chokehold so far,” Scottie responds, taking a protein bar out of his backpack.

“Libs!” Connie pats the girl sitting next to him, getting her to take out her earbuds. Scottie tunes out and puts on his headphones, listening to simple lo-fi and continuing from where he left off in his book.

After several minutes, Connie is drumming his fingers on the table right in front of Scottie, asking for his attention. Scottie slides his headphones down to his neck.

“You’ve chosen a room for the D.C trip, right?” Connie asks, bright eyes boring into Scottie’s.

“Oh, shit. I haven’t. Where are the papers?”

“Fuck, dude!” Connie’s shoulders drop. “Rory and Holland probably got there before you! They left to check it out before you got here.”

“Ahh, shit… Maybe I can convince Rory to duck out and let me room with you guys.”

“Speak of the devil,” Liberty interrupts, staring off at the entrance to the cafeteria. Connie and Scottie turn their heads to see Rory and Holland walking towards the lunch table.

“What’s up, fuckers!” Rory says as she sits down, Holland’s arm linked with hers.

“Rory!” Scottie exclaims, slumping down on the table and stretching his hands towards his friend. “Please switch rooms with me! I don’t know anyone else!”

“Too bad, babe. I’m rooming with Holland, and she wants to stick with Connie. We’re gonna get so fucked up.”

Scottie raises an eyebrow. “Fucked up how?”

Rory grins at him before taking out her opaque water bottle and taking a long drink, her nose scrunching up.

“Oh my god.” Scottie sighs. “You junkie.”

“Hey, I don’t shoot heroin!” Rory complains. “Not in school, at least.”

“Shut up,” Scottie laughs. “If you ever try heroin, let alone bring it on a school trip, I’ll—I’ll fucking flay you.”

“That’s hot.”

The table dissolves into laughter, and before he knows it, Scottie is heading off to his next class.

When you ask a student what their favorite class is, a lot of the time they’ll laugh and say ‘Lunch’. Scottie feels the same, but what’s different about his school day is that he actually likes a select few of his classes quite a lot. History is his favorite legitimate class, and the labs that he does with Liberty in chemistry can be pretty fun. However, what ruins all of those classes is the presence of… everyone else. In almost every class, Scottie can guarantee that if the teacher ever steps out for a second or two or turns around to write on the board, something will get thrown his way. Be it a rude name or a wad of paper, he’s seen it all. Only two of his teachers- his history teacher and his sign language teacher- seem to care about the annoying antics. Scottie often stays after school in his history class, discussing school and politics and fruit drops. 

He’s looking forward to his usual after-school routine, until he walks into his history class and sees a substitute. He sighs and hangs his head, trudging over to his desk and taking out his book.

“Jesus,” the girl sitting next to him says. “How long have you been reading that thing?”

Her name is Monica, and the two are somewhat acquaintances. They’ve shared some laughs during the class, but Scottie doesn’t let his guard down around her like he does with his other friends.

“About a month now,” Scottie responds with a nervous smile on his face that always rises when he’s in a conversation with a new person. “It’s got over a thousand pages.”

Monica whistles and turns back to her backpack, taking out her notebook. Scottie follows suit, not wanting to seem like he was slacking off. The other students around him all seemed very competent, so when Scottie couldn’t find it in him to concentrate, he would still stare intensely at his notebook to avoid judgemental eyes. Scottie considers this a rare day where he can relax because of the lack of his usual teacher, so he opens to a blank page in his notebook and doodles absently on the page as the substitute drones on about practicing for their state tests.

Scottie can feel the daily routine ticking by as a ball of paper hits him in the back of the head. He keeps his head down until a pencil hits the nape of his neck with a soft whap. That actually hurt a bit, and Scottie turns around to see what the kids behind him want. Vinn is sitting there, two tables back, feet on the desk with the history textbook in his lap. He’s pretending to vigorously read, roving over the pages with wide and frantic eyes. The boy sitting next to him starts to laugh and does the same, glancing up at Scottie occasionally.

“Creative,” Scottie deadpans.

Vinn’s right eyebrow quirks upwards and he meets eyes with Scottie.

“Finally, a response. I was starting to think you’d gone mute.”

“No, just unamused.”

“Well I’m terribly sorry my performance isn’t up to par. Maybe for act two I can disappear under the table and try to suck Kayce’s dick?”

Scottie flushes red and Kayce, the kid sitting next to Vinn, laughs out loud and pushes Vinn away from him.

“Fucking gross, dude,” Kayce says. He glances at Scottie, who breaks eye contact immediately. “Let’s be honest though, he’d be into that.”

“I already feel sick when I see your face alone.” Scottie doesn’t recall telling his mouth to say that. “I might vomit if I see anything below your neck.”

Vinn’s eyebrows shoot up and his mouth forms an ‘o’ as he laughs, slapping Kayce on the shoulder.

“He fucking got you, dude!”

Kayce isn’t as amused. He glares at Scottie and elbows Vinn in the ribs, a silent message. Vinn’s expression falls back into his amused smirk, and he looks at Scottie.

“I’d watch my back if I were you,” Vinn says simply before patting Kayce on the shoulder twice and taking out his phone.

Scottie quickly turns back around in his seat. Shit. It’s been about a week since he’s been pummeled, but he just broke that streak with one stupid move. The rest of the students start to pack up their things and stand around by the door about two minutes from the bell, and Scottie is one of the first ones there. He makes a break for his sign language classroom the second the bell rings, but alas, he’s yanked back by the strap of his bag.

“Fucking twerp,” Kayce says. “Not even brave enough to face me? You seemed pretty bold back in the classroom when there was a teacher on the other side of the room.”

Vinn is trailing behind Kayce, hands in his pockets. Scottie struggles against the hand on his bag, but soon there’s an arm around his throat. A small crowd gathers around them as Scottie coughs and swings his legs back against Kayce’s knees, which has no effect.

“Vinn, you wanna get in on this?” Kayce asks, barely breaking a sweat from dealing with Scottie’s struggling.

“Got nothing better to do,” Vinn replies calmly before stepping forward and delivering a kick between Scottie’s legs. Scottie shouts, pressing his legs together and feeling his eyes start to water. Then there’s a fist swung against his jaw, and then Kayce has finally released his neck only to slam his face into a locker.

“Think twice about talking back to Kayce next time,” Vinn says as Scottie slumps to the ground, holding his bleeding nose. “He has a short temper.”

With that, Kayce and Vinn continue walking down the halls as if nothing had happened. A couple kids ask Scottie if he’s okay, and he nods in a daze. The crowd disperses, and the bell rings. The hall is empty. Scottie gets up and walks down the hall, dragging his feet as he makes his way to the men’s restroom. He steps inside and looks in the mirror at the large bruise forming on his jaw and nose, accompanying the blood dripping down his face. He gets some paper towels and starts dabbing carefully at his nose, wincing every time he presses too hard. He hopes that his nose isn’t broken.

After he’s done washing up as best as he can, he reaches into his backpack and pulls out a small tube of liquid foundation. He covers up the bruises on his face, finishing it off with powder foundation. He looks in the mirror and sees a significant lack of acne, and feels happy with his appearance for once. He looks down at the makeup and scoffs. As if he could wear this on a daily basis.

When Scottie finally gets to class, his sign language teacher looks up at him with an understanding look on his face. He gives Scottie a nod and Scottie heads to his desk, sitting down and taking his personal laptop out of his bag. Most students use the school issued laptops, but Scottie brings his own as he’s more comfortable with it. He gets to work on a project that’s due next week, ignoring the whispering behind him and the various pairs of eyes that are burning into the back of his head. The period is over quickly, and the rest of the school day flies by.

Once all of his classes are finally over, Scottie walks down to his school counselor’s room. He knocks twice before entering and setting down his things. The counselor, Ms. Sarus, looks up at him and pulls out a folder.

“Picking a room for the Washington D.C. trip, correct?” she asks, thumbing through the papers in the folder before pulling out one with Scottie’s specifications.

“Yes. Can I room with Liberty Williams and Connie Narakuma?”

Ms. Sarus looks over at her computer and types in the mentioned names.

“That room is full. You’ll have to pick another.”

“But-- um-- They’re the only people I know, and--”

“You can make some new friends, then. It can be an opportunity.”

Scottie bites his tongue, wanting to argue further but seeing the look on Ms. Sarus’ face. He nods. “Um… Just a random room, then…”

“Right then, you’re in room 246 with three other Sophomores.”

“Who?”

“Reginald Otil, Vinnigan Lachlan, and Kayce Koren.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a short chapter, but don't worry, the rest will be longer!

“Fuck my life, fuck my life, fuck my life!” Scottie whines, dragging his feet along the pavement as he walks home.

“What life?” Connie asks, snapping his fingers into finger guns. “Get it? Cause it’ll be over?”

“Yeah, it’ll be fucking over,” Scottie says dryly. “They’re going to actually murder me.”

“Well, I don’t think they’d be able to do that on a school trip… Besides, they haven’t beaten you up in a while, right?”

Scottie responds by shaking some water from his water bottle onto his hand and wiping away the makeup he had applied after history class. Connie blanches.

“Fuck, dude,” Connie puts a reassuring hand on Scottie’s shoulder. “Shit, did they do that today?”

“Yeah, after history.”

“I’m gonna fucking… Poison them.”

“Not a good idea, Connie.”

“It sounds like a fine idea to me!”

The conversation settles into banter about how they would poison Vinn and Kayce, the ideas mainly being lead by Connie. Once they get to Scarborough, they part ways with a hug and a ‘see you tomorrow!’.

Scottie made his way home, did his homework, and fell into bed. The D.C trip was only a week away, and just thinking of it made Scottie’s stomach turn unpleasantly.

 

The majority of the week is uneventful, and Scottie is getting ready to leave on Thursday afternoon when the men’s restroom door swings open and a familiar voice hits his ears.

God dammit.

Scottie hurries to put away his makeup bag, wiping at his face in a frantic attempt to blend in the foundation he had just applied. He’s not quick enough, and Vinn is immediately next to him.

“You know, I always thought it was weird that you never bruised!” Vinn’s tone was mockingly innocent. “I mean I always knew you were a faggot, but not this much of a faggot.”

The slur stings Scottie’s ears, and he resigns to finish the task he’d started. He takes out his powder foundation, trying to ignore Vinn’s overbearing presence. 

Wrong move, apparently.

Scottie sprawls to the disgusting floor, his powder foundation- the pressed kind, luckily- sliding across the tile. Vinn stands over him threateningly.

“I’m so fucking tired of you not responding to anything I say,” Vinn seethes. “You had the balls to stand up to Kayce on Tuesday, but those balls were gone as soon as they showed up. What’s up with you? Are you really that worthless?”

Scottie curls up into a ball, trying to block out Vinn’s words.

“You make me so fucking angry, because you could be something great. But instead, you just fucking run with your tail between your legs. Will you ever learn to stand up for yourself?”

Then the door opens and closes, and the bathroom is silent again. Scottie slowly uncurls, getting up and picking up his powder foundation. The applier is scrunched up in his fist, leaving a big patch of powder on his palm. He packs up his things and leaves, not bothering to continue patching up his makeup. It’s raining anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

It always seems like the good times fly and the bad times drag themselves by, stopping in for tea and overstaying their welcome by about a million years. This week certainly hasn’t been good, but it’s keeping Scottie away from something fucking terrible. That must be why it went by so quickly.

Before he knows it, it’s Saturday and Scottie is packing his bags. Then it’s Sunday and Scottie is waking up at 3am to shower, brush his teeth, and go down to school towards the forsaken bus. Then he’s on the bus, waiting anxiously as other students board. He scans every face, searching for one of the many kids who like to torment him. He sees Vinn get on the bus, and his stomach drops. Son of a bitch.

As if the universe were repaying for its mistakes, he then sees Liberty boarding the bus too. He waves frantically at her and she hurries over to his seat, settling in next to him.

“Ready for a trip through hell?” Liberty asks, taking off her windbreaker and draping it over the back of her seat.

“Not really. At least the buses are nice,” Scottie says, patting the cushioned seat. The school had finally stepped up and gotten two tour buses for the trip, meaning that they were miles better than the gross yellow school buses with the dark green seats.

“Did you see Vinn get on?” Liberty asks.

“Obviously, yeah… He didn’t look malicious, though.”

“Yeah, he just seemed really tired. In all honesty, he looks drunk. He was stumbling a lot and laughing with his friends.”

“That’s what I do when I’m tired,” Scottie points out. “It is five a.m, after all.”

“Four-thirty,” Liberty corrects him, taking out her pocket watch. “We leave at five.”

“You brought that thing with you?” Scottie reaches over and takes the pocket watch from Liberty’s hands, closing it and opening it several times.

“Obviously, yeah!” Liberty echoes. “It’s the best thing I own.”

“Fair enough.”

The conversation trails off from there, Liberty opting to take a nap while listening to the soft music box lullaby that plays quietly from her watch. Scottie listens to the sweet melody and eventually it leads to his eyelids drooping and his head nodding, even as he’s trying to keep an eye on who’s boarding and where Vinn had sat down. It’s not long before he finally nods off, his head dropping onto Liberty’s shoulder. 

When Scottie wakes up, he’s lying horizontally across the two seats, his head in Liberty’s lap. She’s using his head as a table of sorts, balancing a notebook on top of a soft beanie she had placed between the book and Scottie’s head. He makes a low noise and Liberty moves the notebook, allowing him to sit up and look out the window. The sun had risen, and was shining through the window. It cast a golden light across the interior of the bus, warming the left side of Scottie’s face. He puts a hand over his eyes and relaxes back in his seat, letting out a deep breath. He’s got a killer headache, and his neck didn’t appreciate the odd position he had fallen asleep in.

“Any news?” Scottie mumbles.

“We’re stopping for lunch at twelve-thirty,” Liberty replies. “Not much with the other kids, though. Someone wanted to write on your face while you were asleep, but I threatened to throw them out the window.”

“Damn. And it worked?”

“Well, it probably helped that we were driving right next to a cliff at the time.”

Scottie laughs and reaches into his backpack. “Hey, could you read to me?”

Liberty gladly takes the large book and, with Scottie’s direction of where to pick up, starts reading. The bus ride continues.

The two had made it through a chapter and a half before the bus rolled to a stop and a teacher in the front stood up.

“Everyone off the bus for lunch and bathroom breaks!” she calls. The students all get up and rush towards the door, most of them aching to get off the mildly cramped bus. 

Scottie steps out to see a picnic area with a set of public restrooms, complete with a vending machine that already has a growing line of students waiting to get snacks. The teachers step off the bus last, carrying large boxes. They check records for dietary needs and hand out paper bags with small sandwiches, an apple, a juice box, and a packet of cookies. Scottie and Liberty eat their lunches out on the grass, legs outstretched in front of them as they soak up the sunshine.

“Weather’s never like this back in Cleveland,” Liberty mumbles through a mouthful of apple.

“Never in the spring, at least,” Scottie responds, taking his time with his sandwich. Liberty has already gotten through half of her lunch in the first ten minutes.

“Might go get something from the vending machine. D’you want anything?”

“Potato chips?” Scottie asks as Liberty gets up. She gives him a thumbs up and walks off, leaving Scottie to his sandwich and sunshine.

He doesn’t get much time to enjoy aforementioned sandwich and sunshine, though, as an unwelcome guest plops himself down onto the grass next to him.

“What’s up, gay boy?” Vinn asks, grabbing Scottie’s lunch bag and looking at the label on it. “Vegetarian? Really?”

“Meat upsets my stomach,” Scottie responds simply.

“You’ve still got meat in your mouth on a daily basis, though!” Vinn finds his own joke absolutely hilarious, and breaks down into laughter.

“Har har,” Scottie says, laughing along sarcastically. “That’s not even true. I’m gay, but…” He trails off.

“But you’re a virgin?” Vinn asks, grin still on his face. “Oh my god, dude. You’re so fucking--” He can’t continue his sentence before he continues laughing.

“Yeah, yeah.” Scottie sighs. “Look, I’m only in high school, is it so wild that I haven’t… done that yet?”

“I’ve hooked up at least…” Vinn feigns a thoughtful expression, counting on all fingers. “Well, I’ve lost count by now. So yeah, it’s weird that you haven’t fucked yet.”

“You guys act like I’m the only gay kid in the school, so is it that shocking?”

Vinn shrugs, the smirk staying planted on his face.

“Does that mean I win?” Scottie asks with genuine curiosity after a short pause.

“If you wanna say you did.”

“Huh.” Scottie can’t recall the last time he ‘won’ a conversation with Vinn- most likely because it’s never happened before. He feels proud, and grabs his lunch back from Vinn. “Does that mean you’re gonna beat me up now?”

“I’m not like Kayce,” Vinn responds coolly. “Besides, you didn’t really win. I just don’t feel like arguing. I’m in a good mood.”

“It was hardly arguing,” Scottie points out. “Didn’t feel like it. To me, at least.” 

“Truth is, I know you’re not the only fairy in the school. You’re just particularly easy to pick on.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, ‘course! Gays are popping up all the time nowadays, aren’t they? Last time I tried to make fun of a lesbian, she kicked me in the balls and welcomed me to the lesbian community. Looking back, that was honestly hilarious.”

Scottie laughs. “Who was that?”

“A senior, last year. She’s gone by now. I was trying to show off and make fun of an upperclassman.”

“Wait, so you were a fucking freshman picking on a senior?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It wasn’t a good idea. But hey, most of my ideas aren’t great.”

Scottie smiles, feeling something warm in the center of his chest. 

“You’re… Nicer than back home. Is it a special occasion?”

“I dunno. I’ve been pushing it with you lately.”

Scottie’s smile drops, and he looks over at Vinn. He recognizes it all. Despite the sunlight spilling through his caramel hair and the glow of his tanned skin, he knows what this person has done to him. Kicked him, punched him, called him worthless, made him hate himself. He doesn’t know how he forgot.

“Yeah,” is the only word Scottie can form.

“But I mean, it’s all a joke. I’m just kidding around.”

Scottie frowns. “Were you joking when you called me worthless?”

There’s a pause.

“I wasn’t in a good mood that day.”

“Is that supposed to be an excuse?”

Vinn looks surprised at the sudden change of Scottie’s tone. “I mean- yes? You know me, my temper can get--”

“What the hell?!” Scottie gets to his feet. “What-- What the hell are you doing?!”

Vinn gets up too, a matching frown on his face- though Vinn’s gaze seems more confused than angry. “Dude, calm down--”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!” Scottie yells. He’s aware that several students have turned towards them, but he can’t find it in him to care. “You call me faggot, you make fun of me for my sexuality, you hit me all the fucking time, you tell me I’m worthless, and you expect me to understand cause you have a bad temper?! That’s not how it works!”

Vinn’s expression morphs into surprise, and Scottie can feel something wet slipping down his face.

“I’m sick of this! You act like my friend sometimes, and the rest of the time, you beat me until I’m crying and bleeding on the bathroom floor in the middle of the school day! I’m tired of it. Fucking choose one.”

With that, Scottie turns and storms off towards the bus. He gets on and drops into his seat, digging his headphones out of his bag and blasting old classics. His lunch bag is still in his hand, his fist crumpling the paper. He tosses it on the floor in front of the seat and brings his knees to his chest, staring out the window.

Liberty boards the bus not long after, pulling Scottie’s headphones down as soon as she takes her seat next to him. Scottie sighs heavily, wiping tears off of his face. Liberty gives him a hug and places a bag of baked potato chips next to him.

“I’ll be right back,” she says quietly. “Hang in there and eat your chips, okay?”

Scottie nods, though he’s too upset to stomach anything right now. Liberty walks off the bus, and Scottie puts his headphones back on and blocks out the rest of the world.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the bus ride goes smoothly. Scottie ends up falling asleep once they start driving again. When he wakes up, he eats the rest of his abandoned lunch and the chips Liberty had bought him. The two play I Spy for the rest of the ride, Scottie slowly being cheered up.

By the time the bus arrives in Washington D.C., Scottie’s spirits have been lifted and the sun has set. He and Liberty meet up with Connie, who had been on the other bus. The three share their excitement for the rest of the trip and plan to find each other for every activity. Scottie gives them both lasting hugs before heading to his room, dragging his luggage behind him. The plan for the students is to get to their rooms and go straight to sleep, as the ride took all day.

Scottie finds his room and opens the door to see that it’s empty. He lets out a breath of relief and starts unpacking, putting his clothes in one of the dresser drawers and setting out his toiletries in the bathroom. He takes a moment, looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. His hair is nice today, and his eyes are shining. They may be a bit red from crying earlier, but he convinces himself that it’s not noticeable. He’s about to open the bathroom door and go back into the main room when the room door slams open and rambunctious voices fill the room.

Scottie groans in annoyance, locking the bathroom door and sitting down on the closed toilet.

“Where’s the fag?” Scottie hears Kayce’s voice say. “This must be his stuff.”

“Dunno.” Vinn’s voice seems somewhat reserved. Scottie perks up in interest, listening more closely.

“This hotel kinda sucks,” a new voice chimes in. Scottie figures it must be the fourth room member, Reggie Otil.

“Yeah, only two beds? One of us is gonna have to sleep with the gay kid,” Kayce says.

“Not it!” Reggie yells.

“Not it!” Kayce yells after him. “Vinn, you’re sleeping with the fag!”

“What?! No fair!” Vinn protests. Scottie feels his stomach sink a little.

“That’s just how the ancient rules of Not It work, alright? Make sure you sleep with clothes on.”

“Ugh.” Vinn sounds truly disgusted, and Scottie feels his already weak urge to leave the bathroom diminish further.

“Where is he, anyway?” Vinn’s tone has shifted to disinterested.

“Maybe in the bathroom,” Reggie responds. “Jerking it to our voices, I bet.”

Before Scottie knows what’s happening, a pair of fists is hammering on the bathroom door. He hurries to get up and open the door in order to dispel the rumor of him… yeah. He barely manages to dodge Reggie falling on top of him, as his full body weight had been on the door. Reggie falls, and Scottie darts out of the bathroom and over to his bed. He chose the side farthest to the door and closest to the window.

“Look how red his face is!” Kayce points out as Reggie is getting back to his feet. “I bet he really was jerking it! Fucking gross, man!”

“I wasn’t!” Scottie protests, his voice cracking slightly. All three of his new roommates proceed to laugh their asses off over the voice crack, and Scottie scoots under the covers and turns himself into a turtle that’s buried itself in its shell.

“Let’s go to bed,” Scottie hears Vinn say. “We’ve got a buncha shit to do tomorrow, and we’ll get yelled at if we keep making noise.”

“Eager to get in bed with the fag?” Kayce taunts.

“As fucking if,” Vinn replies, with a little too much anger in his tone. He cools himself down. “I just need my energy for pummeling him tomorrow.”

“That’s the spirit,” Kayce says.

It’s not long before all three other boys are in their pajamas and getting into bed. Scottie, by this point, had taken off his jeans and tossed them into his bag before resigning to sleeping in the rest of his day clothing. He feels the bed dip as Vinn gets in beside him.

“I swear to god, if you even try to touch me, you’re gonna be out that window before you can blink,” Vinn threatens him.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Scottie responds, his back to Vinn.

The room settles into silence, but Scottie doesn’t fall asleep until what feels like hours. He wishes he had Liberty’s lullaby pocket watch to lull him to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Scottie wakes up to horrifically loud snoring coming from the other side of the room. He rolls over and looks at his phone, which he had left charging on the bed next to him. Three-twenty. He sighs, sitting up in his bed and blinking several times to adjust to his surroundings. He’s always had a habit of waking up for no reason in the early hours of the morning, and this instance is no different.

He walks over to the bathroom and brushes his teeth, since he had been too nervous to leave the bed the previous night. As he’s walking back to his bed, he sees a figure sitting up in the dark.

“Vinn?” Scottie whispers. The figure looks over at him, and Scottie can make out a mane of bedhead and a loose tank top.

“What the hell are you doing?” Vinn asks, but there’s no anger in his voice. Having just woken up, his voice is gravelly and low. 

“I woke up for some reason,” Scottie replies, going back to his side of the bed and sitting down. “Sorry for waking you.”

“Mmph.” Vinn lies back down, arms stretched over his head. “You didn’t really wake me up. Well, you did, but I was having a nightmare, so thanks.”

“You’re welcome, I guess.” Scottie lies down too, turned onto his side to face Vinn. “What was it about?”

“The nuclear apocalypse,” Vinn says coolly, staring at the ceiling. “Y’know, how one day nukes will be launched into America and everything will devolve into absolute chaos and anarchy and our water supply will be contaminated… Probably won’t even come from nukes, it’ll be from power plants blowing up like Chernobyl.”

Scottie is stunned for a second. “Damn. That sounds like a brutal nightmare.”

“Yeah, but I have it all the time. It’s like a TV show in my head.”

“Now it just sounds cool. Like The Living Deceased but with nuclear stuff, and you get a new episode every night.”

Vinn laughs in that low morning voice, and Scottie feels his face going red as Vinn turns onto his side as well to face him.

“Yeah, it seems cool. It feels super real in the moment, though.”

“Do I ever show up?” Scottie asks, drawing a small laugh from Vinn.

“Probably, but dreams are hard as hell to remember. You might’ve been one of the first people to die, I dunno.”

“Very fitting. I know for sure I wouldn’t last long.”

Even in the dark, Scottie can feel Vinn’s eyes on him. “Nah, you’d get by just fine.”

Scottie scoffs. “You said it yourself, dude. I never stand up for myself, I’m a pussy, spineless, blah blah blah… Oh, and useless. If I wasn’t killed by radiation, I’d get eaten by my starving peers.”

“That’s kinda fucked up.”

“Well, it’s something you said.”

Vinn shifts slightly. “I know. I’m sorry. That was a fucked up thing for me to say.”

Scottie blinks. “Did you just… Apologize?”

Vinn blows a raspberry. “Hey, I apologize when I know I’ve gone too far!”

“You didn’t apologize for kicking me in the balls a couple days ago…”

“Yeah, I should be less physical. I’m sorry for that, too.”

Scottie is in absolute fucking shock right now. His brain is on autopilot to continue the conversation, and he wonders distantly if he’s dreaming.

“It’s… It’s okay.”

“Not really,” Vinn replies.

Scottie runs out of things to say, and a silence settles over the two. Naturally, his brain starts racing to think of something to say.. Wait shit don’t say that you fucking--

“This is nice.”

Oh my god. You fucking moron. You two aren’t a couple you absolute--

“What’s nice?”

Scottie has to clear his throat to keep his voice from cracking. “Um, this. I like talking to you. Not in a gay way, I just-- You seem like a cool guy.”

“Relax,” Vinn laughs. “I’m a fan of this too. It’s chill.” There’s a pause, and this time, Scottie’s brain doesn’t feel the need to fill it with words. “By the way, do you know what time it is?”

“About time you got a watch,” Scottie says as he reaches over his shoulder and grabs his phone. Vinn laughs, and at the end of his laugh, there’s a little snort. Scottie can’t keep from grinning. “Three fifty.”

“You laughin’ at my laugh?” Vinn teases, though there’s an audible smile in his voice.

“Definitely,” Scottie replies, chuckling. “We can get, like… two more hours of sleep if we quit it now. We should probably do that.”

“Alright. Night, Scott.”

“Goodnight Vinn.”

 

When Scottie wakes up again, he’s in a good mood. Vinn is still asleep, facing towards him. Scottie takes a moment to look at Vinn, despite the little voice of doubt in the back of his head saying that’s incredibly creepy.

Vinn’s tanned face is dotted with freckles, and a mole on his right cheekbone. His eyelashes are long, and his eyebrows are both natural and well kempt. His lips are a light shade of warm pink, and they’re parted as he sleeps. The curve of his nose accents his face perfectly, a simple slope down to a button-shaped nose. There are a few clusters of acne, but it somehow makes Vinn’s face more… human. More natural. 

Scottie smiles before sitting up, looking across the room. Reg and Kayce are still asleep, Kayce completely spread out in a starfish shape with Reg clearly trying not to make any physical contact while also trying not to fall off the bed. Scottie chuckles to himself before grabbing some of his clothes from the dresser and walking into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower and dresses in the bathroom, running a comb through his damp hair and trying to get it to look nice. His hair, of course, does nothing of the sort. He gives up with a sigh and exits the bathroom to see the other three waking up. Reg is still fast asleep, but Kayce has finally stopped snoring. Vinn is sitting up, rubbing at his eyes. He looks up and meets eyes with Scottie, who looks away with red rising in his face. He doesn’t know why he’s blushing, but he certainly is and he can’t let the others know.

After a relatively quiet morning of meeting up with Liberty and Connie down in the hotel lobby and eating breakfast together, the class is off to the Smithsonian Museum. They split into groups based on their room numbers, but thankfully, Connie’s room is close enough to Scottie’s room that they end up in the same group. Their supervisor, one of the teachers that had come along on the trip, leads them through the museum and points out important moments. Scottie pays some attention to what the guide was saying, but most of his attention is dedicated to Connie’s clever jokes about every exhibit they went past. The two are chuckling to themselves about Connie’s comparison of a caveman to Kayce when a hand lands on Scottie’s shoulder. Scottie jumps about a foot in the air and scrambles away from the hand, turning to see Vinn and Kayce.

“What’s so funny?” Vinn asks lightly.

“Um--” Scottie stutters, but Connie interrupts him.

“I was just saying that the caveman over there looked just like your buddy Kayce,” he says cockily.

Kayce looks absolutely enraged, but Vinn just laughs. He turns to Kayce.

“I mean, where’s the lie?” he says, grinning.

“Connie!” Scottie grabs his friend’s arm, panicked.

“Seems like your friend is trying to tell you something,” Vinn says. “Could it be that you don’t know that he’s rooming with us?”

“Well, why would you target him? I’m the asshole here- well, to you two at least.” Connie crosses his arms.

“Connie, enough!” Scottie whispers. Connie ignores him.

“Well, Kayce isn’t the kind of guy to think about his anger. He just acts on it,” Vinn replies, an easy smile on his face. “If he’s still angry by tonight, little Scottie’s here gonna be in big trouble.”

“I mean- can’t you stop him?” Connie asks. “Scottie told me--”

Scottie decides enough is enough, and slaps his hand over Connie’s mouth. Connie makes a noise of surprise, immediately trying to get Scottie’s hand off of his face, but Scottie doesn’t budge.

“I’m sorry,” Scottie says to Kayce, and partially to Vinn. “He doesn’t know when to shut up.”

Connie stops for a moment and shrugs, as if to say Yeah, true.

Kayce glares at the two of them. “You better pray I’m not in a bad mood at night.”

“I already pray about that daily,” Scottie replies, punctuating it with a nervous laugh. Kayce’s face remains angered. He turns and storms away, leaving Vinn to observe the two.

“I’m a bit curious, what did Scottie tell you?” Vinn asks, grabbing Scottie’s wrist and yanking it away from Connie. Scottie expects him to let go of his wrist, but he doesn’t. Scottie remains locked in place at his side, desperately trying to telepathically communicate with Connie and tell him to keep his mouth shut.

“Well, since your big bad friends are gone, you can drop the act. Scottie said he talked to you one on one, and you were really nice. He was hella surprised, and couldn’t stop talking about it. It didn’t seem like you hated him. So if you don’t hate him, why do you let your friends kick the shit out of them? And why do you participate when they do?”

Scottie hangs his head in defeat, waiting for Vinn’s reply. He lifts his head back up when he feels Vinn’s grip on his wrist slowly disappear. Vinn is staring right at Connie, holding solid eye contact. His stance is relaxed, yet at the same time the kind of stance that tells you that he’s on guard.

Scottie feels his mouth moving. “Yeah, and why do you beat me up on your own sometimes? It just… doesn't make sense. You seem alright, but…”

Vinn shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “You’ve kinda got me cornered here. There’s not a simple explanation. Scottie, I’ll talk to you tonight. Connie, mind your own business. Both of you, be careful around Kayce.” With that, he turns around and walks back to his friends, picking up his usual attitude and laughing with them.

Connie turns to look at Scottie. “What the hell was that?”

“I dunno,” Scottie replies, still looking at Vinn. “I guess I’ll find out tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay but have i mentioned how much i hate this story? i don't even know why i'm writing it, it feels so mediocre and boring and nothing to me but i meannn here i am anyway


	6. Chapter 6

Scottie can’t decide if the day went by agonizingly slowly or if it flew by in the blink of an eye. It seems like some parts never seemed to end, while he suddenly found himself back at the hotel room in what felt like fourteen seconds, not fourteen hours. Regardless, he’s here at the hotel now, and Reg and Kayce went to go get snacks from one of the many hotel vending machines.

Scottie sits down on his bed, swinging his legs slightly as Vinn takes off his jacket and shoves his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry,” are the first words out of Vinn’s mouth.

Scottie looks up, still surprised to hear Vinn apologizing. He opens his mouth to say something, but Vinn continues.

“I know I’ve been a complete prick to you for years. Directly or indirectly, the shit that I’ve done is… Unexcusable. And I’m sorry. I don’t want you to see this as an excuse, just sort of… my side of the story. Alright?”

Scottie nods, at a loss for words. His heart feels like it’s aching in the best and worst ways possible at the same time.

“I can’t even remember how I came to be popular,” Vinn starts. “Maybe it’s my mediocre white boy looks, or my take-no-shit attitude, I don’t know. But what I do know is that the shit went to my head fast. I started taking way more control, cause it was so easy to control the other kids- that sounds fucked up as hell, and that’s ‘cause it is. I was a fucked up kid, but I’m sure you already know that. I got to the top of the dogpile, and from there, I was stuck. I was self aware at some point, but I knew that if I tried to climb down and stop being such a prick, the other pricks that I had made close friends with would cast me out and I would be beaten down. I would get what was coming to me, and that was scary as fuck. I always just tried to push down the guilt, and it worked a lot of the time. But… I can’t do that anymore.” Vinn locks eyes with Scottie, and Scottie can’t seem to look away. “I’m sorry, Scott.”

There’s a long, pregnant pause as Scottie processes the speech he had just been given. He wonders if Vinn can hear the gears turning in his head.

“It’s… okay,” Scottie finally comes up with. The words leave a bitter taste in his mouth and a sour feeling in his chest. "I'm sorry too."

“You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Vinn rushes to say. This is the first time in years Scottie has seen him flustered. “Look, I-- I should do something actually… good, for once, and get out of this shit. We can be friends again. I should be brave for once in my life instead of pretending.”

“Did… Did you prepare this during the day?”

Vinn blinks, and then a surprised smile spreads onto his face. “Yeah, actually! I was wording it and rewording it in my head a ton, cause I wanted to make it… y’know, nice. Is that weird?”

“That’s such a mood,” Scottie sighs. “I do that, but on an everyday basis. Like, when thinking of what to order from a restaurant.”

Vinn laughs and sits down next to Scottie. Once the soft laughter between the two dies down. Vinn looks over at Scottie with a smile on his face.

“You were right,” he says. “This is nice.”

Scottie is quick to look away as his face starts turning red, a flustered smile stuck on his face. The weight on the bed shifts as Vinn stands up and stretches. 

“Vinn?”

“What’s up?”

The words die in Scottie’s mouth, and he struggles to reform them. “Um… Why did you… Why did you change your mind again?”

Vinn offers a bittersweet smile. “Memories, man.”

Scottie decides to let it go. The two bide their time in a comfortable silence until Reg and Kayce get back several minutes later with a couple bags of chips. Scottie disappears under the covers with his phone, planning on playing tetris until he falls asleep, until he hears a voice saying his name.

“Hey Scottie, wanna get in on this?”

It was Vinn. Scottie emerges from the covers to see Vinn looking over at him with warmth and a hint of apprehension in his eyes, and a genuine smile. Scottie can’t fight the smile off of his face as he goes and sits next to Vinn. Kayce and Reg scoff at Vinn, but don’t they say anything much. Reg seems more accepting than Kayce, who continues to make gay jokes throughout the conversation.

Scottie makes sure he doesn’t take any of the chips without being offered by Vinn, not wanting to seem greedy at all. Vinn seems to notice and tilts one of the bags towards him, laughing lightly and telling him he can take whatever he wants. Scottie is still apprehensive, but he starts to relax. After the conversation starts to dwindle, he suggests his favorite card game, which leads to them playing until Scottie is almost falling asleep.

It seemed impossible, but as Scottie is pulling the covers up to his chin, he feels like he made new friends today. Even as he drifts off to sleep, he can’t fight the smile off of his face.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the D.C. trip goes by relatively normally. Vinn sticks with his friends and Scottie does the same. Scottie still wakes up in the middle of the night several times, and each time, Vinn has woken up too and they’d talked for a while. Scottie managed to learn that Vinn is still an absolute nerd for things like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Despite the voice of reason in the back of his mind, he continues smiling and laughing every night as they talk about movies and books and shows. Every night, Vinn and Scottie end up laying on their sides facing each other, and every night, Scottie’s thankful that Vinn can’t see the flustered blush on his face. He can certainly hear Scottie’s mild stutter, though, but he doesn’t point it out.

Scottie’s almost sad when the D.C. trip ends, but the amount of times he had been pushed around by Kayce and Reg with Vinn standing around behind them made the trip okay at best. On the bus ride home, Vinn traded seats with the person sitting across the aisle from him and Liberty. Scottie, for once, was happy to have the aisle seat as opposed to the window seat, as he would chat with Vinn for almost the entire ride. A few other kids gave them strange looks, but when Vinn had raised an eyebrow at them almost as a challenge, they had decided to mind their own business. 

Scottie gets a ride home from his parents once he gets back to Cleveland, and he finds himself smiling as he stares absently out the car window at the streetlights passing by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter, but the next one will be long! didn't wanna make the pacing/flow weird by shoving what should be two chapters into one space.


	8. Chapter 8

“ _u have no idea._ ” Scottie rolls over on his bed, rubbing his eyes and letting them adjust to the bright light of his phone as he types. “ _its so fucken confusing dude its like hes been picking on me for ages but hes still cute_ ”

“ _are u kidding me_ ” is Connie’s reply. Scottie pouts at his phone. “ _he’s the definition of douchebag. he’s been beating you up for so fuckin long now. he’s not even gay_ ”.

“ _you dont know that!!_ ”.

“ _dude whatever- seriously though, please be careful. i might sound like a Mom right now but i hate seeing you hurt and i’m willing to bet that’s all this is leading to. please please be careful, i love you_ ”.

“ _i love you too <3_”.

Scottie gets out of bed with renewed energy, putting on his glasses and cancelling his morning alarm. He had been woken up by Connie texting him earlier, anyway. He showers quickly, puts in his contacts, takes his meds, gets dressed, and is off to school on his bike. He locks his bike up and heads to his first class. As he walks in the door, he sees Vinn sitting on his desk playing on his phone. Vinn looks up at Scottie and smiles.

“What’s up, loser?”

Scottie rolls his eyes, not knowing how else to respond. He walks over to his own desk and sets down his backpack, looking up to see Vinn suddenly standing right in front of him. Scottie jumps slightly, causing Vinn’s smile to grow a little.

“Come on, don’t keep ignoring me!” Vinn whines. “I’m tired of you being all bleh when I try to talk to you.”

“Maybe try not being a dick?” Scottie replies, turning off his headphones and sliding them down to hang around his neck.

“Touche,” Vinn replies simply. “Maybe try not being such a pushover. I like the attitude you’ve got today.”

“Quit acting like you’re mentoring me to be more of an asshole. It’s getting annoying.”

“Me? Mentoring you?” Vinn feigns surprise. “I’m shocked and honored that you think I would be worthy of teaching you to be an asshole!”

“You’re not ‘worthy’, which is why I’m pointing it out.”

“In your seats, everyone!” the teacher calls suddenly in a shrill voice, causing Scottie to jump a bit. Vinn cracks up and heads back to his seat.

As class goes by quickly, a familiar feeling rises up in Scottie’s chest. He glances over at Vinn and sees a blank face, staring up at the board and fiddling with his pencil. Scottie’s chest starts to hurt, and he looks away. 

_You can’t trust him._ the voice of anxiety states matter-of-factly. Scottie’s mind starts racing as he tries to combat his own thoughts.

_Maybe I can trust him,_ Scottie thinks. _Maybe he’s finally grown up a bit._

_He’s already ‘grown up’ once, and you saw what happened. You can’t blindly put faith in people who have hurt you before. Building walls might be unhealthy, but keeping your guard up is just reasonable._

Scottie lets out a breath, backing down and letting his more anxious mindset take over. The D.C. trip must’ve just been a trick, or some sort of sick joke. It makes sense, looking back on it. Vinn would still tease him daily, and do nothing to keep his friends from messing with him too. The nightly conversations were just products of being tired and bored. Scottie feels his concentrated expression relax into a stoic one. It doesn’t matter, anyway. He knew all of it was a fluke from the start.

The bell startles him out of his thoughts. He gets up and walks out, completely blocking out Vinn’s attempt at a joking conversation. He’s sinking back into the routine, the routine he thought would change because of the D.C. trip. He sees Vinn walking next to him, a confused look on his face, but he can’t even hear the words Vinn are saying. The noises of the hallway all sound like they’re underwater, and Scottie puts his headphones up over his ears.

Three periods and two more bouts of apathy later, Scottie feels someone yank on his backpack. He stumbles backwards and manages to regain his footing, taking off his headphones and turning around.

“What the fuck?” Vinn asks immediately. “What’s up with you today?”

“What’s been up with you this entire week, and the week before that?” Scottie asks in a flat voice. It barely sounds like a question. “Why haven’t you been pushing me around, hitting me, shouting at me, and calling me names like normal?” He holds his arms out to his sides. “Look, your favorite punching bag is standing right in front of you. You know by now that you won’t get in trouble.”

Vinn looks genuinely hurt. “I’m trying to stop that, dude.”

Scottie smiles bitterly. “Don’t bother,” he says in a mockingly sweet tone. “We’ve got our routine set up. It’s been like this for, like, two years now. If you wanna leave me alone now, be my guest, but don’t try to be my friend. I may have never told on you, but there’s such a thing as consequences.”

With that, Scottie turns and keeps walking. This time, he doesn’t get pulled back.

Scottie finally makes it to the cafeteria. By now, his legs are shaking from the adrenaline of his confrontation. His apathetic exterior is starting to melt away, and he’s a bit of a mess. As soon as he sees Connie sitting at their regular table, he sits down next to him and hugs him tightly.

“Code V for Not-Vendetta?” Connie asks, hugging back.

“Yeah.” Scottie curses his voice for shaking. “This is bullshit. I hate him.”

“I hate him too, Scotts.”

Once Scottie lets go and sits back, he lays his head down on the table, using his arms as a cushion. His body feels completely drained of energy. Connie, in a vague attempt to cheer him up, starts rattling off various needlessly morbid revenge schemes including but not limited to lacing a doughnut with LSD, laxatives, and expired cyanide and giving it to Vinn. Scottie tries to play along, giving half hearted smiles every now and then, but his mind is elsewhere. Eventually, Connie stops rambling and pokes him.

“Scottie.” His voice is barely audible over the roar of the cafeteria. “We gotta hang out today, alright? You free after school?”

“I guess,” Scottie replies. He looks up at Connie and lets his face relax, expression softening. “I’ll meet you by the bike rack.”

“You got it.” Connie digs through his backpack and hands Scottie a candy bar, leaving with an exaggerated wink. Scottie laughs and stands up, following the crowds as they gather around the cafeteria exits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like the pacing is definitely rushed. i'm kinda hyper 90% of the time so i guess it makes sense with my personality, but i'll try my best to make it better as i go on!


	9. Chapter 9

There’s a large part of Scottie that’s relieved that Vinn doesn’t try to talk to him for the rest of the day. His anxiety appreciates it, finally allowing him a moment of peace before quickly getting back to work. However, there’s that small part of his brain tucked away in the corner that wanted Vinn to come after him, wanted Vinn to pull his backpack again, wanted Vinn to apologize again and kiss--

_Jesus, okay, rewind. Not in my good Christian… hallway._ Scottie shakes his head firmly, shaking the thought from his head. He knows what he wants, but he knows at the same time that it’s absolutely ludicrous. So, he pushes it to the back of his mind and continues walking to the bike rack.

Scottie unlocks his bike and waits around for Connie, before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He jumps and turns around with a smile, but the smile quickly disappears.

“Aw, were you waiting for someone else?” Kayce is towering over him, hand still on Scottie’s shoulder. Scottie is suddenly shoved backwards, and he fails to let go of his bike as he falls, so it falls on top of him with a small crash.

“Fuck off, Kayce,” Scottie says, annoyed enough to abandon the ‘routine’ of apathy. “What do you want?”

“I just wanna know why you’re turning Vinn gay,” Kayce says. “You’re like, infecting him or some shit.”

“I-- what?!” Scottie’s bad mood intensifies. “How the fuck does that even work?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? Just quit making him weird like that. Fags should keep to themselves.”

“Uh-huh,” Scottie deadpans. He starts shifting his bike off of him, standing up. “I’m not doing anything, like some queer witchcraft or whatever. Leave me alone.”

“Whatever,” Kayce scoffs. “If he keeps acting weird, I’m blaming it on you and you’re gonna get the gay kicked out of you.” He turns and starts walking off.

“You’ve already tried to kick the gay out of me, it hasn’t worked!” Scottie calls after Kayce, who for once, doesn’t respond.

“Scottie!” Connie’s voice is music to Scottie’s ears, and he turns to see Connie jogging towards him. 

The two start on the way to Scottie’s house, the conversation casual and relatively meaningless until about halfway through the walk. Connie slows down slightly, his laughter dying down from a joke Scottie had just made. Scottie can see Connie looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Scotts… What happened between you and Vinn?” Connie asks.

There’s a period of silence in which the two keep walking. Connie’s eyes are still on Scottie, but Scottie is looking ahead.

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna tell me,” Connie offers. “But I feel like it would help if I knew.”

There’s another pause. “Remember eighth grade?” Scottie asks.

Connie nods. “First year I was in this town.”

“You weren’t my first best friend,” Scottie starts. “Vinn and I had met in grade school. We live a couple blocks away from each other, so we’ve gone to the same schools for most of our lives. We became friends back in, like, fourth grade.”

“Really?” Connie asks. “Was he still an asshole back then?”

“Not at all.” The small laugh Scottie punctuates the sentence with lacks any sort of humor. “He was a nerd, just like me. He’d come over and watch Harry Potter movies, and we’d pretend we were wizards too. We’d cast spells on each other and do all sorts of wizard duels, and we even started pretending that our elementary school was Hogwarts. It was the most fun I’d ever had back then.”

Connie blinks, waiting for Scottie to continue. “Then what?”

“Then puberty hit, I guess. Vinn got cute, and I stayed ugly.” Connie starts to protest, but Scottie just shakes his head and keeps going. “We were both on the radar now, but for different reasons. He was getting really popular, joining sports teams, going to lame middle school parties, all that shit. Meanwhile, I was getting picked on. It wasn’t physical at first, people would just laugh at me and make fun of me and call me names or whatever. I was completely alone at that point. I had a couple acquaintances, but Vinn was the only person I’d ever really trusted as a close friend.”

“That’s fucked up,” Connie says quietly.

“It really is.” Scottie takes a breath. “Then one day this kid with a weird name-- Lila? Lily? I dunno, can’t remember-- she invited me to her birthday party back in eighth grade. Ther was some other loser there, I think his name was Connor or Cory. It was fucking awful.” Scottie and Connie both start to crack up. “No but really, you and Liberty were angels. Sometimes Libs would yell at the bullies and they’d make fun of her too, but she didn’t really seem to mind.”

“What did we ever do to deserve Libs?” Connie wonders aloud wistfully. Scottie laughs.

“Yep. So, that’s my traumatic backstory. How many stars?”

“Hm… Five out of five. Very tragic, very… Anime protagonist.”

“Oh, shut up!” Scottie playfully shoves Connie to the side, laughing. “If there’s anything you’re going to compare me to, don’t make it Naruto.”

“Hey, who said you were Naruto? Have you even seen that show?”

“Nope.”

“You’re… Sacreligious.”

“I sure am, buddy.”

The laughter dies down again.

“So… I’m assuming that Vinn joined all the bullies?”

Scottie sighs. “Yeah. It wasn’t fun. And now he’s trying to be my friend again.”

“Dude, don’t do that to yourself. I really think you should stay away from him after everything he’s done.”

“I know,” Scottie lies. “I won’t let him get to me again.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Get over here and help!” Connie whines.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you, I’m in the middle of a staring contest,” Scottie says without breaking eye contact with his dog, who’s sitting in front of him with her tail wagging.

Connie groans, tossing his papers in the air. “Chemistry is dumb!” he sings. “When will I ever need to know the entire periodic table?”

“Never,” Scottie sings back. “This is bullshit!”

Connie cracks up, and Scottie follows suit. “Buy it on iTunes,” Connie chuckles.

“Chemistry EP. What’s our next song?”

“Hm… Vinn Sucks.”

Scottie laughs. “A bit direct. How about ‘Fuck Right Off’? It can be screamo or something.”

Connie goes quiet for a moment before bursting out laughing, falling to the floor and hiccuping as he laughs. “I’m just-- Holy shit-- I’m imagining you doing screamo with your fucking chipmunk voice! Oh my god!”

Scottie starts laughing just as hard, finally breaking eye contact with his dog to throw an arm over his eyes, tongue poking out of his teeth as he laughs.

“I wouldn’t be the screaming one, I’d be the one in the back hammering it on the ukulele!” Scottie says.

Connie continues laughing. “Screamo and ukulele… Sound familiar?”

“No, not at all. I think we just made something completely original.”

Connie and Scottie continue laughing until they grow tired of it. Connie gets up and walks over to where Scottie is sitting on the floor of the living room and sits down next to him. Scottie’s dog stands up and crowds the two of them, licking Connie’s face and sitting down in Scottie’s lap.

“Geez,” Scottie huffs. “Lyn, you’re way too heavy to be a lapdog!”

“She gives no shits,” Connie says, scratching Lyn behind the ears. His cell phone rings and he stands up, walking over to where he had left it on the couch and answering. He hangs up shortly after. “I gotta head home soon.”

“Aw, dang. Did we get anything done?”

“Nope, as always.”

“Good, I wouldn’t want our flow to get messed up.” Scottie grins at Connie, who lets out a small laugh as he packs up his homework. “I’ll ask my dad if he can give you a ride home, alright?”

“Yep yep.”

Scottie bounds up the stairs and knocks on his dad’s door. His dad says he can give Connie a ride home in a couple minutes, and the two kids bide their time until he comes down and gets in the car. Once Scottie returns home from dropping Connie off, he goes up to his room and sits down on his bed. His chest feels light and happy from hanging out with his best friend, but there’s still that ever-present doubt. This time, it’s accompanied by something else… Guilt?

Scottie shakes his head to himself. He can’t feel guilty over what he did. If anything, Vinn should be the one feeling guilty. Although, Vinn did apologize during the D.C. trip… Scottie finds himself laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, running through the conversation back in D.C.

He had not once mentioned that he had left Scottie in the dust in favor of making fun of him every time they saw each other. He hadn’t mentioned the first time he had beaten Scottie up after school in seventh grade, or the first time he had run into Scottie and it had been just the two of them, how Scottie was willing to give him another chance but Vinn had just shoved him aside and called him faggot.

It feels like there’s a war going on in Scottie’s head. Every time he closes his eyes, his mind seems to fight over wanting to show Vinn’s smiling face across from his, hair splayed across the pillow, and then Vinn’s maliciously grinning face standing over him as kick after kick is being landed all over Scottie’s body.

Scottie falls asleep with his mind still racing, resulting in a restless night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready!!!


	11. Chapter 11

When Scottie gets to school the next day, he feels like shit. He couldn’t stop waking up every hour or so last night, and the weight of his dilemma is heavy on his shoulders. He trudges into school and prays that he doesn’t see Vinn in his first period class, but alas, the universe doesn’t want to grant him any favors. Not only is Vinn in his usual spot, but he’s staring right at Scottie as soon as he walks in. Scottie breaks the accidental eye contact and moves to his spot, still feeling Vinn’s eyes on him the whole time. As soon as he sits down, Vinn stands up and walks quickly to Scottie’s desk.

“Scott,” he says in a serious tone. “We gotta talk.”

Scottie completely ignores him, taking out his notebook and pretending to be incredibly immersed in last night’s homework that he didn’t do.

Vinn isn’t having any of it. He grabs Scottie’s wrist and yanks him out of his seat, practically dragging him out of the classroom. Scottie feels apathy wash over him, this feeling being terribly familiar. However, instead of being slammed against a locker or punched in the face or stomach, he’s turned around to face Vinn. Vinn’s hands are planted solidly on Scottie’s shoulders, and his face is determined and concerned. Scottie takes a moment to realize where they are- one of the back stairwells of the school that isn’t commonly used. He remembers being beat up here a month or two ago.

“Scott.” Vinn’s voice is firm, and Scottie looks up at him. “Please, just talk to me. I want to be friends with you again. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Please, tell me what’s going on in your head.”

Scottie shrugs Vinn’s hands off of his shoulders and sits down against a wall. Vinn sits down next to him, staring at him.

“Scottie, please.”

Finally, Scottie speaks.

“You have some fucking nerve.”

Vinn frowns. “What do you mean?”

“You have some fucking nerve to drag me out of class and try to be my friend after two years of treating me like the scum of the earth. It’s the other way around, dickhead. You’re the one who abandoned me. You’re the one who decided I wasn’t good enough.” Scottie feels himself getting choked up. “You’re the one that’s made my life a living hell. You’ve made me the laughingstock of the school, the punching bag, the nobody and at the same time the one kid you always recognize as that one kid who’s bullied. You’re acting like nothing ever fucking happened, like you don’t even remember!” He didn’t mean for his voice to get louder as he spoke, but it did. There are tears slowly flowing down Scottie’s face, which is quickly reddening from anger. “As if you don’t remember elementary school, and our stupid roleplays and how you came over every single weekend! As if you don’t remember fifth grade, the day you promised me we’d always be best friends, only to stab me in the fucking back not one month later! As if you don’t remember how confused and hurt I was every single time you and your lackeys dragged me out to the back of the school to beat me for just talking back! Do you even know what that’s like?! To have your best friend, your only friend, suddenly turn around and become your worst enemy?!”

Scottie buries his face in his hands. He wishes he could have his apathy back, as this is miles worse. Every memory is crowding into the forefront of his mind, fighting for space to remind Scottie of how fucked up his ‘friendship’ with Vinn has been. He lets out one ugly sob after another, his entire body shaking.

“I thought you would be there for me,” Scottie whimpers into his hands. “And all I get as an apology is a little speech about how hard your life has been.”

He takes a minute to calm himself down, evening out his breathing before wiping tears and snot off of his face with his sleeve. His face is still bright red and his anxiety is sending waves of uncomfortable heat through is body, but at least the euphoria that comes after crying is kicking in a little bit. He finally looks over at Vinn.

Vinn’s head is low, with one hand pressed over his eyes. He has his lower lip is pressed so firmly between his teeth that Scottie thinks he might draw blood. He’s crying too, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs as tears run down his face and drip off of his chin. He looks absolutely pathetic, small and fragile… Even more pitiful than Scottie himself. Scottie shakily puts his hand on Vinn’s shoulder, and he yelps as suddenly Vinn pulls him into a crushing hug. Vinn’s arms are wrapped around his waist tightly enough to push all of the air out of him, and the positioning is slightly uncomfortable, but Scottie couldn’t care less. He slings his arms around the back of Vinn’s neck and hugs back, savoring the moment as Vinn’s face is pressed into his shoulder. Both of them are still shaking, but Vinn’s shaking steadily subsides as he evens out his breathing. Scottie realizes that he’s essentially sitting in Vinn’s lap, but he really couldn’t care less right about now. Through all the anger, all the tears, all the pent-up frustration, he knows that he doesn’t want this moment to end.

It has to end at some point, though. Vinn slowly pulls away, hands coming to rest on Scottie’s waist. Scottie finally has to pull away too, his hands resting on Vinn’s shoulders. Vinn moves his hands up to cup Scottie’s face gently.

“There’s no excuse for what I did,” he starts shakily. “I will never, ever forgive myself, and I don’t expect you to forgive me either. I’ll apologize a million times over, and not once will you be obligated to forgive me in the slightest. I know that you probably hate me, and that it’s absolutely justified. I’ve been so pushy recently, and that was so wrong of me after everything I’ve done. Scott, I’m so, so sorry. I’ve been absolutely horrible to you and you deserve so much better than me. Please, please let me be your friend again so I can try and make it right.”

Scottie holds Vinn’s wrists gently, staring at him as a thousand different voices are screaming in his head to trust him or to not trust him, to stay or to run, to kiss him or to play it safe. 

In the end, one side wins. Scottie surges forwards and connects his lips to Vinn’s.

It’s almost like Vinn was expecting it. His grip on Scottie’s face tightens slightly and one hand moves to the back of his head, fingers threading through his hair. The kiss is gentle and soothing, their lips still against each other until Vinn pulls away and opens his eyes. Scottie’s face is damp with fresh tears.

“I’m sorry,” Scottie whispers.

Vinn smiles. “What are you sorry for?”

Scottie looks down, hiccuping with the aftershocks of sobbing earlier. He leans into Vinn and buries his face in Vinn’s chest. Vinn wraps his arms carefully around Scottie, his thumb rubbing small circles in the back of his hoodie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUITE A DOOZY INNIT


	12. Chapter 12

The bell rings, but Scottie doesn’t want to move. His head is pressed up against Vinn’s chest, and he can hear Vinn’s heartbeat, slow and calm. Vinn shifts slightly, pulling Scottie closer before letting go.

“We gotta get our stuff and go to class,” Vinn says quietly.

Scottie lets himself bask in the comfort of using Vinn as a pillow for another moment before pulling away and standing up. He helps Vinn up, and an awkward silence settles over them as they walk to their classroom. Vinn offers to go in and get both of their bags, as he can make up some dumb excuse easily. He returns and hands Scottie’s bag back to him. Scottie shrugs it on, wringing his hands and avoiding eye contact.

“Scottie?”

Scottie looks up. “Yeah?”

“Um… Do you want to come over after school? We can talk about all this, and figure everything out.”

Scottie nods. “I’ll meet you by the bike rack.”

“Actually--” Vinn puts his hand on Scottie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but could you meet me around the corner? I just… If Kayce and everyone else see us, they might think you did something and try to come along…”

“It’s okay,” Scottie says, though there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach. “I’ll meet you at Lee and Cedar, okay? Right after school.”

“I’ll get there as fast as I can.” Vinn brings his hand up to Scottie’s face and tilts his chin upwards before kissing him softly. “See you then.” 

The two turn and go their separate ways, essentially ignoring each other in the classes they share. As soon as school is over, Scottie runs to the bike rack and starts unlocking his bike.

“Scotts, hey!” Connie’s voice hits Scottie’s ears, and this is one of the very few times where he absolutely dreads it. Connie comes up beside him. “How about we go to Coventry and do stupid shit on the garage roof? It’ll get your mind off stuff.”

“Nah, I’m-- I’m okay. I’m just gonna head home.”

“You sure? You were super spaced out during lunch.”

“I’m fine, Connie, really. We can hang out this weekend, alright?”

Connie frowns, suspicion in his eyes, but he doesn’t mention it. “‘Kay. Drive safe.”

“Absolutely not,” Scottie responds as Connie turns, flashing him a quick smile before heading off to the bus stop.

Scottie hurries to the corner at Lee and Cedar, hopping off of his bike after the short ride and leaning it on the kickstand. He waits for a few minutes before he sees Vinn jogging down the street. Vinn catches up to him and they start walking, Scottie wheeling his bike alongside him. The route is familiar to Scottie until they reach Fairmount, where they take a right instead of a left. It’s been years since Scottie’s been to Vinn’s house, and he hardly recognizes it as they walk in. According to Vinn, his parents are working late tonight. The two head up to Vinn’s bedroom and Scottie sits down on Vinn’s bed awkwardly.

“So,” Scottie says.

“So…” Vinn replies.

“What is it you wanted to talk about…?”

Vinn sighs. “I’m just gonna say it outright. I-- I like you a lot, Scottie.”

Scottie blinks. “Yeah, I like you a lot too.”

“Well, that’s a start,” Vinn says, a small smile spreading across his face. “I guess I’m gay, then…”

“Do you like guys?” Scottie asks.

“Yeah, but I like girls too.”

Scottie laughs. “Then you’re bi or pan, dipshit.”

“Pan?” Vinn asks.

“Y’know, attracted to everyone no matter their gender or whatever.”

“Isn’t that the same as bisexual?”

“Nope. I’m really not good at explaining it, you should look up a guide to sexualities. Anyways, I’m guessing you’re bisexual. Welcome to the gay community!”

Vinn huffs out a laugh, but his face is pale.

“Vinn?”

“Shit, this was one thing that lead to me being a complete dick to you. I liked you back in middle school, too.”

“You-- You what?”

“I knew that whatever I was feeling wasn't normal in middle school, I’ve just grown up thinking that it's wrong and all…”

Scottie stands up and, with a sudden bout of courage, strides across the room and kisses Vinn. He fists his hands into Vinn’s shirt, pulling him closer. Vinn inhales sharply in surprise, but his hands settle on Scottie’s hips. The kiss is slow and sweet, with Scottie experimentally moving his lips and Vinn letting him lead. Scottie has no idea how to kiss, and it's a bit awkward with teeth clicking together occasionally, but the meaning of it is clear. Scottie starts walking them backwards and turns them around so Vinn ends up sitting on his bed. This breaks the kiss briefly, but Scottie is quick to climb into Vinn’s lap and keep kissing him. Eventually Vinn takes control, nipping at Scottie’s lower lip as his hand slides up under Scottie's shirt. Scottie breaks the kiss and starts trailing timid, wet kisses down Vinn’s neck, sucking lightly at where his shoulder and neck meet. He pulls away before he can leave a mark and presses his forehead against Vinn’s.

“That didn't feel too wrong to me,” Scottie breathes after a minute.

“Same here,” Vinn responds before bringing their lips together again. 

This time Vinn is in full control, and he stands up quickly and turns the two around like what Scottie had done, pushing Scottie down onto the bed and climbs on top of him, his arms resting on either side of Scottie’s head. Scottie stares up at him, tongue darting out over his bottom lip for a moment. His eyes flutter shut as Vinn leans down and kisses him. Vinn is quick to swipe his tongue over Scottie’s lips, making Scottie shiver. Scottie starts to ruck Vinn’s shirt up slowly, trailing his hands across the skin. Vinn manages to pull himself from Scottie’s lips in order to start sucking and biting at his neck instead. Scottie gasps, digging his nails into Vinn’s back, which only spurs Vinn on further. He pulls at the collar of Scottie’s shirt and starts leaving real marks across his collarbone. Scottie lets out an embarrassing high-pitched whine when Vinn bites down on a particular spot.

“Vinn,” Scott breathes out.

“Mm?” Vinn hums against Scottie’s collar.

“Don't we… Still have to talk about stuff?”

Vinn makes a disappointed noise. “What else is there to talk about?” he asks before going back to leaving various marks on Scottie’s collar, coming dangerously close to being impossible to hide.

“What we are, your-- ah-- your friends, m-middle school, all that.”

“Who cares about that right now?” Vinn mumbles, sliding his hands under Scottie’s shirt and sitting up for a moment to pull off Scottie’s hoodie.

Scottie lets his hoodie be flung across the room, but he holds onto his shirt. “Vinn, how-- how far are we taking this?”

Vinn pauses unbuttoning his own shirt. “We'll figure it out as we go, is that okay?”

Scottie shakes his head, sitting up and scooting out from under Vinn. “I don't-- Um-- Not today, Vinn. Not now.”

Realization dawns in Vinn’s eyes and he nods, looking away. “I’m sorry. I moved way too fast.”

“Frustrated?” Scottie jokes with a small smile.

Vinn chuckles. “You bet. I can deal with it, though. Just, if you ever feel uncomfortable with anything I do, please tell me, okay? I’m used to meaningless shit that happens fast.”

“I promise I’ll let you know if I’m uncomfortable.” Scottie pecks Vinn on the lips. “I’m the total opposite, it’ll take some getting used to.”

Vinn opens his arms wide and Scottie dives in, giving him a huge hug. The hug is purely innocent, and Scottie feels himself relax. 

“Maybe later, though,” Scottie whispers, placing a kiss on Vinn’s jaw.

Vinn smiles, tilting Scottie’s face upwards so he can kiss him properly.

“We really have to talk,” Scottie murmurs when they separate.

“Alright,” Vinn starts. He takes a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m ready to tell my friends yet… If they gang up on me, we’re kinda dead. I’m not even that worried about myself here, I just know that… They’ll blame you. They’ll go even harder on you, and Kayce especially doesn’t know self control. I’m--” He chokes up slightly. “Fuck, I hated seeing you so hurt, every single day. It was like there was a part of me chained up in the corner that was screaming to stop hitting you, to stop all my friends from doing that to you. I didn’t listen, though. I’m so sorry, Scottie.”

Scottie takes Vinn’s face into his hands and leans their foreheads together.

“It's okay,” he says quietly. “It's okay. I might not be ready to fully forgive you, but you have no idea how excited I am to have you back.”

Vinn ducks his head and pulls Scottie into another hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set up some rules for the couple, i hope you're ready for the next chapter ;P (hint: you're not)


	13. Chapter 13

Two weeks of discussion and secret romance ensue. Vinn will occasionally pull Scottie into the back of the school library and trail deep red and purple bruises up his neck and around his jawline. Scottie, even though he would thoroughly enjoy himself, would then force Vinn to help him apply his makeup to hide the various hickeys.

( _“But now I can’t kiss your neck without getting makeup in my mouth,” Vinn whines as he pats powder foundation over a mark._

_“Consequences, Vinny boy,” Scottie giggles._

_“Never say that again.”_ )

The only time the two can actually be affectionate towards each other is when they’re at each other’s houses. Scottie’s parents had never known about Vinn’s cruelty, so when they see Vinn showing up around the house again, they’re ecstatic.

( _“They’re gonna be surprised,” Scottie mumbles as he locks his room door, Vinn lounging on his bed._

_“About what, us?”_

_“Mm-hm.”_

_“Well, I think they’ll be expecting it. If anything, they’ll hear you moaning up here and clue in at the start.”_

_“Wh-- Vinn!!”_ )

After careful discussion and planning, Vinn decides to come out publicly. Scottie assures him that they don’t have to do it in a flashy way, they can just slowly integrate their romance into their public lives. Vinn shakes his head, though, saying he’s been hiding for long enough, and that the school deserves to know how lucky he is. Scottie smiles at this, heart warming up.

( _“What about Kayce?” Scottie asks nervously on Sunday night._

_“I’m not sure what he’ll do,” Vinn admits. “But whatever it is, I’ll be right there to protect you, okay?”_

_“I’m not worried about what he’ll do to me, I’m worried he’ll go after you.”_

_Vinn chuckles. “We are so fucking cute.”_ )

When Scottie and Vinn walk into school on Monday, they're holding hands. Vinn walks into the center of the main hallway and picks Scottie up by the backs of his thighs, holds him up against a wall, and kisses him hard. 

Gasps and small exclamations bounce around the hallway, until it quiets so much that the only audible sound is the slide of Vinn’s lips on Scottie’s.

“Vinn!” The crowd parts as Kayce comes storming through and into the center of the ring. His voice is absolutely enraged. “Fucking… Fucking what?!”

Vinn breaks the kiss with Scottie and departs with one last little kiss before grinning at him and setting him down. He walks up to Kayce until they're chest to chest, staring him down. Vinn is a bit shorter than Kayce, but damn if he doesn't stand like he's the tallest kid in the school. 

Suddenly there's a loud crack and Vinn is on the floor, bleeding. The crowd is yelling and screaming and Scottie has rushed to Vinn’s side, shouting louder than anybody in the crowd. In less than a second Scottie is skidding across the hallway floor on his side, and then various kids are grabbing Kayce and pulling him back. Scottie gets up with difficulty to see Kayce shaking other students off of him, screaming at them to get the fuck back as he approaches Vinn, who’s still on the floor. Scottie scrambles over to Vinn and tries to pull him away from Kayce, but Kayce just grabs him by the collar of his shirt and throws him against the wall. The back of his head cracks against the wall and as he slides down, he hears the crowd’s screaming escalate. He vaguely feels something warm dripping down the back of his neck. His vision is blurry, and he’s barely conscious enough to watch as Vinn gets up and swings a left hook right at Kayce. It hits him straight in the eye, and Kayce turns with the force of the punch, but then he turns back and completely decks Vinn. Scottie hears himself scream as Vinn crashes to the ground again. Kayce doesn’t stop there, he practically pounces on Vinn and keeps whaling on Vinn, who at this point is just trying to shield himself from the attacks.

Scottie fights against the blackness that’s taking over his vision, but in the end, he loses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> h


	14. Chapter 14

As soon as he wakes up, he wishes he were back asleep. His eyes aren’t even open yet and he can already feel bright lights burning into them. He can hear the steady beep of what must be a heart rate monitor. 

_God, what happened?_ he thinks. _Why does everything hurt?_

He finally opens his eyes and fully recognizes that he’s alone in a hospital room. He sits up slowly and looks around for the button that sits next to the bed. He finds it and presses it, letting himself lay back down. A nurse arrives not long after, stepping through the door and checking his vitals.

“Vinnigan Lachlan,” the nurse addresses him. “Correct?”

“Yes,” Vinn replies. His voice is scratchy, and his throat hurts like a bitch. “What happened?”

“Do you not remember?” the nurse asks, concerned.

“No, I remember getting beat to a pulp, but… I didn’t think it was worthy of the hospital.”

“Mild concussion, internal bleeding, and three broken ribs,” the nurse responds. “I’d say that’s worthy of hospital.”

“Damn, I guess you’re right.” Vinn sighs. He runs through the incident and sits up, causing sharp pain to shoot through his torso, accompanied by his bruises aching.

“Sweetie, you shouldn’t sit up like that! You need to lay down,” the nurse exclaims, rushing over to the side of the bed. She looks up at the heart rate monitor as the beeping gets faster.

“Scottie,” Vinn says, still struggling to sit up as the nurse is trying to push him back down as gently as possible. “Where’s Scottie?”

“Scott Moran?” the nurse asks. “The other boy who was in the fight with you?”

“Yes! Where is he?”

“Er-- He’s a couple rooms down. I’ll let you know when you can see him, alright? He’s currently getting staples.”

“Staples?!” Vinn runs through his memory and finds the moment where Scottie must’ve gotten a serious concussion. He remembers Kayce throwing Scottie against a wall, and as Scottie had slid down to the floor, a disgusting streak of blood had followed where his head had been on the wall. Rage courses through him, and his heart rate monitor continues to beep faster.

“Honey, I’m going to need you to calm down. Scott is okay, he’ll live. Please lay back down.”

Vinn finally listens to the nurse, laying back down. However, he can’t shake the feeling of unadulterated fury towards Kayce, towards Reg, towards everyone in the crowd who had just stood there.

“Did my family come?” Vinn asks quietly.

“Your father stopped by, but he had to leave before you woke up,” the nurse replies, her voice soft and sympathetic. “He said that he’ll try to come often, okay?”

“Okay.” Vinn closes his eyes, thinking back on the situation. The nurse leaves after a few minutes of making sure Vinn has everything he needs. Vinn lets himself fall asleep, exhausted after everything.

 

When Vinn wakes up again, he feels nauseous with fear and anxiety. He eases himself out of bed as fast as he can and pulls out the IVs in his wrists. He slowly makes his way to the door and into the hallway, leaning against the wall as he walks. The fear starts building as he walks. He needs to know that Scottie is okay. _He_ _needs_ _to know that Scottie is okay._ He finally has him within reach, he can’t lose him.

“Scottie!” Vinn calls out. “Scottie!”

He continues walking down the hallway until he stops at one of the doors, pushing it open and peeking inside. There’s a young kid, probably in third grade, fast asleep. He quickly closes the door and moves on.

“Scottie!” he calls again. “Scotts! Please!”

Several feet away, a door opens and a timid, shaking boy steps out. He’s rolling his IV stand with him, leaning heavily on it. He looks down the hall and the two boys make eye contact. Vinn throws every thought of his own care to the wind and starts running down the hallway, ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in his ribs. He grabs Scottie, wrapping him up in a tight hug. Scottie hugs back, and the two sink to the floor due to their shaking legs. Scottie’s IVs must have gotten ripped out as he dropped with Vinn, as he let out a small sob and clutches Vinn’s hospital gown tighter. Vinn feels himself shaking bad as he starts to tear up.

“I’m so sorry,” Vinn mumbles into Scottie’s hair. “I’m so, so sorry. We’re going to get through this. We’re gonna be okay.”

“I know,” Scottie says, shaky voice muffled by Vinn’s chest. “I know.”

After being found by a very distressed nurse and escorted back to their respective rooms, the two boys get through their time in hospital. Vinn got out one day before Scottie, and his father let him stay home from school until Scottie was back in school too, supposedly for more rest. He spent that entire day at the hospital as a visitor, seeing Scottie as often as he could. He would spend the day talking with Scottie about what they would do, how they would explain themselves, before Scottie finally spoke up.

(“Fuck that,” he had said, catching Vinn off guard. “We don’t owe anyone an explanation. We don’t owe them shit. Fuck all of them, we can just exist and we’re valid as shit.”

“Are you on pain meds…?”

“Maybe? I can’t tell.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”)

Finally, the day comes where they’re supposed to go back to school. Vinn is pretty successful in avoiding his parents, and makes it to school without excessive conversation. He manages to avoid his mother, which is always a plus. Once he gets to school after taking his sweet time walking, he accepts his fate and goes to find Scottie immediately.

-

Scottie is walking into his first period classroom when someone grabs his hand and starts pulling him. Panic shoots through him at first and he yanks his hand away, but when he looks up to see Vinn, the panic slowly starts to dissipate. Vinn offers a small, nervous smile before tugging on Scottie’s hand gently, signalling him to follow. Scottie complies, letting himself be pulled through the halls and into one of the men’s bathrooms. It’s empty, and Vinn backs Scottie into a corner.

“We’re gonna be called up to the office,” he says quietly. “We’re fully out, right?”

“Yeah,” Scottie responds. “Um… Mind backing up a bit?”

Vinn realizes the position he’s put Scottie in and backs up immediately. “Shit, I’m sorry. Force of habit, I think…?”

“It’s okay. Are you alright with being completely out as a couple?”

“Yeah, as long as you’re okay with it.”

“Well, everyone already knows I’m gay, and I’m the one with the shit reputation here.”

“Hey,” Vinn tilts Scottie’s chin upwards so the two are staring each other in the eye. “Are you implying what I think you’re implying?”

“Probably, yeah.” 

Vinn pouts. “Don’t say that about yourself. I’m the lucky one here, okay? Don’t ever put yourself down.”

Scottie huffs out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, you’ve always been there to do it for me.” A moment passes and he realizes what he said. “Fuck, I’m sorry--”

“No, you’re right,” Vinn interrupts him. “But I’ll be damned if I don’t make it right one day.” He leans down and pecks Scottie on the forehead, then the cheek, then the lips. Scottie smiles weakly.

“It’s one of those days,” he says.

“One of those days?” Vinn asks. 

“Oh,” Scottie blinks. “Right. You weren’t really… around for all that. Depression.”

“I didn’t help much back then, did I?” Vinn asks.

Scottie shrugs. “Not really, no. But,” he takes a breath and looks in the mirror across the bathroom, walking over to it. “Things are better now. They’re gonna keep getting better.” He reaches up and runs his hand across the bandages wrapped around his head. He hadn’t bothered with makeup today, meaning the hickeys on his neck are also on display.

Vinn walks up behind Scottie, looking at him in the mirror. “I’m glad you’ve stayed optimistic,” he says with a hopeful smile on his face. He doesn’t look much better than Scottie; bruises all over his face, a busted lip, and a bandaid on his right cheek.

Scottie tries to laugh, and fails. “If I had really stayed optimistic, I wouldn’t be depressed.”

Vinn opens his mouth, most likely to try and say something vaguely encouraging, but he’s cut off by the P.A system.

“Vinnigan Lachlan and Scott Moran, please come to the main office,” the secretary’s voice crackles. 

“There it is,” Vinn breathes. “Let’s do this. I’m right here.”

Scottie nods and takes Vinn’s hand, walking with him down to the main office. Once they make it there, the secretary tells them to sit down and wait for another student to get there. Scottie shifts anxiously, and his stomach sinks when Kayce walks into the office and sits down, glaring at the other two students. After a moment of heavy silence, the principal walks out and gestures for the three to get up and follow her.

They get into the principal’s office, and Scottie and Vinn sit down. Kayce is left standing, as there are only two seats.

“Kayce, fetch yourself a seat from the mail office,” Principal Adara says. Kayce does as he’s told and sits down.

There’s a tense moment where Principal Adara looks over the three of them, almost as if she’s seizing them up. She’s an intimidating woman, to say the least. Her eyes are sharp and tactical, and they stare right through you. Scottie gulps.

“So,” she starts. “I have been told that last week on Monday, you three got into a fight with each other. Who would like to explain that?”

No one speaks up at first. Scottie is trying hard not to cry, his chest tightening up.

“I will,” Vinn says suddenly, his voice bold. “I kissed my boyfriend and Kayce over here beat me so bad I got put in the hospital. Scottie, too.”

The principal shifts her gaze from Vinn to Kayce, raising one eyebrow.

“They were being disgusting!” Kayce bursts out. The principal narrows her eyes, and Kayce quiets down. “I mean, they were-- they were kissing. PDA isn’t allowed, right?”

“Correct, Public Displays of Affection are not allowed in school,” she says calmly. “However, that is no excuse to give one student two students a concussion, broken ribs, and internal bleeding respectfully.”

Kayce clearly doesn’t know how to respond, silently fuming. “Vinn is doing this to spite me!” he finally says.

“To spite you?” the principal asks.

“What the fuck?” Vinn chimes in, before looking over at the principal. “Sorry.”

“He is not gay,” Kayce protests. “Vinn and I used to make fun of this loser all the time! It doesn’t make sense that he would just… do that, out of nowhere! I didn’t mean to punch him, but he came up to me looking like a fucking asshole--”

“Language, Koran,” Principal Adara reprimands sternly. Kayce ignores her.

“--it was basically self defense! If I didn’t hit him, he would have hit me!”

“Quiet!” Principal Adara’s voice rattles all three students. Kayce finally shuts his mouth, and the principal’s stare has turned from calculating to furious. “I have had enough of your shenanigans. Kayce Koran, you put two of my students into the hospital for an offense that is punishable by detention. Their families are fully capable of pressing charges and having you pay for their medical bills along with further compensation. I will not stand for this foolishness going on in my hallways, do you hear me?”

Kayce stays quiet for a moment. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You will be suspended for a month with regular visits to your guidance counselor to deal with your obviously out of control temper. If this happens again, I can guarantee that you will be expelled.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, get out of my office and go home. I will be giving your parents a call on their personal phones to tell them everything, along with emails.”

Kayce stands up and storms out of the office. Scottie and Vinn both let out a breath, glancing over at each other.

“Vinnigan,” the principal interrupts. “You will not go unexcused either, as you were a part of the conflict, and Scott too. I will be calling both of your parents and telling them about the entire situation, as far as my understanding goes.” Her expression softens. “I’m terribly sorry you two had to go through that. If anyone else troubles you for your relationship, please come straight to me. I wish I could have expelled Koran on the spot, but I’m obligated to give him another chance due to outside issues. He will be under watchful eye though, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Scottie and Vinn say simultaneously.

“Good. You’re dismissed, get back to your classes.” Principal Adara offers a small smile before ushering the two out of her office and closing the door.

As soon as they’re out of the office and around the corner, Scottie collapses into Vinn’s arms.

“God, that was the most stressful thing in my life,” Scottie hiccups, tears running down his face. “I don’t know why I’m crying, but I am.”

“Same here,” Vinn replies, his voice shaking. Scottie looks up to see Vinn crying too, one hand over his mouth. “My parents are gonna be so pissed.”

Scottie only hugs Vinn harder, burying his face in Vinn’s chest as Vinn starts to shake.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Scottie mumbles. “I’m going home with you today, and we’re facing them together.”

Vinn starts sobbing, wrapping his arms around Scottie and holding him tightly as he tries in vain to muffle his sobs and calm himself down.


	15. Chapter 15

As Scottie and Vinn are making their way home, Vinn continues to have sudden bouts of anxiety and panic that stop him in his tracks and speed up his breathing. Each time, Scottie has dropped his bike and let it crash to the pavement as he hugged and consoled Vinn until he was stable enough to keep walking. The walk to his house isn’t even that far, but it must’ve happened at least five times.

“I’m so scared,” Vinn says quietly as they’re walking.

Scottie is scared too, but he decides that it’s not time for him to complain yet. “It’s gonna be okay. Worst case scenario, I’m sure my parents would be glad to let you crash at my place for a couple nights.”

“God, they could kick me out,” Vinn mumbles. “They could, and they might.”

“But probably not! When I first came out, I had packed a bag and had it laying by the door just in case. They were super understanding, though.”

“You were that scared?” Vinn asks.

“Yeah. They never even talked bad about gay people, they didn’t talk about them at all, it must’ve been something else that made me think…” Scottie trails off, thinking that it’s better if he keeps his mouth shut. If Vinn figured out what he was talking about, he doesn’t mention it.

The two make it to Vinn’s house, and Vinn gives Scottie a long hug before intertwining their fingers and walking into the house. His mother is home from work today, and she looks up as Vinn enters the house.

“Vinnigan?” she says. Her tone is already threatening.

“Hi, mom,” Vinn says, voice shaking. “This is my boyfriend, Scottie.”

His mother’s face shifts, her expression turning to confusion. She stands up. “Your what?”

“My boyfriend.” The air is tense, but Vinn doesn’t seem to be backing down despite the tremor in his voice and the claminess of his hand.

“How long has this been going on?” Her voice is the deadly sort of calm that leaves you fearing for your life.

“A couple weeks. It’s how I got these bruises and ended up in the hospital, happened when we came out,” Vinn replies.

“And what’s his name?”

“Scottie,” Scottie chimes in. “My name is Scottie. Nice to meet you.”

“Mom, you know him,” Vinn says quietly. “I used to hang out with him a lot in elementary school.”

“Oh, you’re that Scottie? You’ve grown up quite a bit.” Her tone is about as disingenuous as it gets. “I’m sorry, but Vinn isn’t allowed to have guests over tonight. Would you like me to give you a ride home?”

“He’s staying,” Vinn insists. “You never told me I couldn’t have guests today.”

Vinn’s mother’s gaze turns back to her son, and her face is completely blank. “Vinnigan, may I speak with you in the other room?”

Vinn’s hand tightens around Scottie’s. “If you have something to say to me, you can say it to him too.”

Vinn’s mother sighs. “You’re making this difficult, Vinnigan.”

“Stop calling me that!” Vinn yells suddenly, taking a defensive stance. There’s a loud _slap_ and Vinn’s head is turned to the side, and he’s holding his hand to the side of his face where his mother had just struck him with the back of her hand. There’s rage burning in his mother’s eyes. Scottie rushes closer to Vinn, stepping in between him and his mother.

“How dare you?!” Scottie yells. “This is your son!”

“You have no business here!” It’s clear that Vinn’s mother’s deadly calm attitude is completely gone, replaced by demon-like fury as she screams at Scottie. “You made him this way! Get out of my house, _now!_ ”

There are tears spilling down Scottie’s face by now, but Vinn’s huddled stance only encourages him. “How could you be so horrible to your own child?! If you lay another hand on him, I swear to God you’ll regret it!”

“Don’t you dare talk to me that way in my own house!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Scottie screams before taking Vinn’s hand and running out of the house with him, leaving his bike in the front yard and going back to his own house. 

 

Scottie pulls Vinn up into his room after signalling to his parents that now was not the time to coo over the two of them. He locks the door and Vinn collapses on the floor, holding the sides of his head as his breathing gets faster.

“Fuck, Vinn, you gotta calm down,” Scottie tries, trying to pry Vinn’s hands away from his face, only to be met with Vinn flinching harshly and scooting far away from him. “Vinn?”

“Too much yelling,” Vinn mumbles, his voice shaking so much that his words are nearly incomprehensible. “She-- she was sober, wasn’t she?”

“Sober?” Scottie starts to piece things together. “Vinn… What happened?”

Vinn finally breaks down into harsh, loud sobs, curling in on himself as Scottie desperately tries to console him. Scottie resigns to waiting it out, whispering to Vinn that he’s okay, he’s safe, mom is far away and she can’t get to him here.

Eventually, Vinn manages to calm down, his tears and hyperventilating subsiding. He holds his arms shakily out to Scottie, who immediately falls into them, hugging Vinn and trying to convey every bit of emotion he can into the embrace as the two sit, curled around each other on the wooden floor.

Scottie only pulls away when Vinn’s grip loosens. He looks up at Vinn’s face, red and tear-stained, and cups his face gently.

“It’s okay,” Scottie whispers. “You’re okay.”

This makes Vinn crumble yet again, but his tears this time lack the panic and shock that they had before. Now his posture isn’t scared, it’s just sad and defeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so how r yall likin this constant downhill


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING WARNING  
> EXPLICIT  
> we needed a break from everyone else's bullshit so

It doesn’t take much for Scottie to convince his parents to let Vinn stay overnight, even though it’s a school night. The two spend their time working on absent work they had gotten from teachers that had been assigned while they were in the hospital. Vinn helps Scottie through some of the math problems that he doesn’t understand, and Scottie points out some grammatical errors in the rough draft of an essay. They stay like that, Vinn sitting on Scottie’s bed with a lapdesk and Scottie sitting at his own desk, until Vinn puts down his pencil.

Scottie picks up on the lack of pencil lead scratching in the background and turns around to see Vinn with his legs hanging over the side of the bed, elbows resting on his knees and head hanging. Scottie gets up and walks over to Vinn, taking a knee in front of him and taking ahold of one of his hands.

“You okay?” Scottie asks softly.

Vinn looks up at him, brown eyes dark and heavy. “I don’t know,” he responds.

Scottie nods and stands up, moving the lapdesk with the various papers over to his own desk before laying down on top of his duvet and motioning for Vinn to join him. Vinn does, laying on his side facing Scottie.

“I’m proud of you,” Scottie says softly. Vinn’s lips twitch into a sad smile.

“I’m proud of you too,” he responds.

“You’re gonna be okay,” Scottie continues. “We’re gonna be okay. As long as we have each other, we can do anything.”

Vinn snorts. “Are you serious? I thought we were above that.”

“You called me ‘babe’ the other day, so I don’t think we’re above anything.”

Vinn’s smile grows. “You got me there.”

A comfortable silence settles over the two, and Vinn closes his eyes. He opens them again shortly after, though, when Scottie speaks again.

“What was wrong, earlier?”

“Too much silence,” Vinn responds. “It freaks me out a little.”

“Duly noted. Feel better?”

“Definitely.” 

Vinn sits up and kisses Scottie, who’s still laying down. Scottie happily reciprocates, the innocence of the kiss not lasting long as Vinn swipes his tongue over Scottie’s lower lip. Scottie sighs contentedly, opening his mouth slightly and letting Vinn lead. Vinn takes over from there, swinging his leg over and straddling Scottie as he deepens the kiss, his arms on either side of Scottie’s head, effectively caging him in. He pulls away and Scottie lets out a displeased noise before Vinn ducks lower and starts kissing along Scottie’s neck. He pauses where Scottie’s neck meets his shoulders and bites softly, sucking a mark into the skin. Scottie breathes out heavily, hands coming up to Vinn’s back and clutching the back of Vinn’s shirt. Vinn pulls away for a moment and looks up at Scottie, taking a moment to appreciate the pure work of art beneath him.

“You doin’ alright?” Vinn asks.

“Mm-hm,” Scottie responds. “That was hella nice.”

Vinn grins. “We going slow enough for you?”

“Yeah. Are you…?”

“I’m in the mood, yeah.” Vinn laughs quietly. “Are you?”

Scottie would be lying if he said the air wasn’t heavy with lust, and he’d definitely be lying if he said the way Vinn was looking at him wasn’t turning him on. He takes a breath, considering for a second.

“Not all the way,” he says finally. “Take it slow.”

Vinn smiles. “You’re the boss. Tell me to stop and I will, alright?” He kisses Scottie again before sitting up and helping Scottie out of his shirt, taking off his own right after. He runs his hands up Scottie’s chest, then trailing them down towards his jeans. He unbuttons Scottie’s fly but stops there, going back up to Scottie’s neck and littering marks around his collarbone. He savors the way Scottie’s breath quickens with each new mark, and the way he whines quietly when Vinn bites down.

“Man,” Scottie breathes. “A year or two ago I never would’ve believed I’d be here.”

“Would you have wanted to?” Vinn mumbles against Scottie’s chest before starting on another mark.

“Hah… Definitely, but I’d n-never admit it. I was trying too hard to hate you.”

Vinn hums in acknowledgement before looking Scottie directly in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Scottie responds. Vinn shakes his head.

“No forgiving,” Vinn replies. “Not yet, alright?”

Scottie nods wordlessly and Vinn ducks down to kiss him. The kiss takes a little while to become heated, but once it does, Vinn finally grinds his hips downwards against Scottie’s. Scottie makes makes an embarrassing noise, and he can feel Vinn smiling against his lips as he does it again.

“You okay?” Vinn asks, half joking when he pulls away.

“Hell yes,” Scottie replies, slightly breathless. “Do that again.”

“Your wish is my command.” Vinn grinds down again, harder this time, and Scottie gasps as Vinn doesn’t lift his hips away, continuing to move against him. Scottie arches his back and his hands fall to the sides of his head, twisting into the duvet as he starts panting. 

“Lift up your hips,” Vinn requests, scooting back between Scottie’s legs. 

Scottie complies, and Vinn pulls his jeans off, before taking off his own, tossing both articles of clothing aside. He reaches down and cups Scottie through his boxers, and Scottie responds by clapping his hand over his mouth as he moans.

“I’ve never done this with a guy before,” Vinn admits quietly, fondling Scottie through the thin fabric.

“I’ve never done this period,” Scottie pants out before gasping as Vinn squeezes, his other hand trailing along the waistband of his boxers.

“I hope I make it a good first time,” Vinn responds, admittedly nervous.

“It’s already good,” Scottie murmurs, bucking his hips up into Vinn’s hand.

Vinn starts pulling down Scottie’s boxers with one hand as the other hand slips under the fabric and starts pumping him slowly, teasingly. Scottie arches off the bed again, whining and pulling at his duvet. One of Scottie’s hands goes into his own hair and tugs, and Vinn makes sure to remember that for later. He gets Scottie’s boxers down to his thighs before pulling them fully off with both hands. He leans down and kisses Scottie roughly, one hand going back down and sliding up and down Scottie’s cock. Scottie keens, moaning loudly into Vinn’s mouth. Vinn breaks the kiss for a second.

“Not that I don’t love hearing you like that,” Vinn laughs.. “But your parents might hear.”

“Don’t care,” Scottie responds breathlessly. “Keep going, _please._ ”

Vinn lets his usual smug grin overtake his face as he continues jerking Scottie off. He swipes his thumb over the head of Scottie’s dick, gathering precum in his hand as a sort of makeshift lube. He slows down and lingers at the head, thumbing Scottie’s slit. Scottie’s breath is shaky and his face is flushed red, eyes watering.

“F-Fuck,” Scottie gasps as Vinn continues jerking him off, speeding up.

“You like that?” Vinn’s voice is deep and gravelly, and it only serves to turn Scottie on even more.

“Yes, God, yes,” Scottie responds. He whimpers when Vinn leans down and starts leaving more marks on Scottie’s chest.

Scottie's noises are getting higher pitched, and Vinn knows that he won't last long.

“Please,” Scottie whines. “I-I’m close.” He yelps as Vinn leans down and licks a stripe up Scottie’s dick before taking the head into his mouth and sucking hard. With that, Scottie unravels, letting out a long, drawn-out cry that's only mildly muffled by his hand. Vinn winces at the unfamiliar taste filling his mouth but he swallows anyway, working Scottie through his orgasm until Scottie pushes him away weakly. Vinn crawls up and lays next to Scottie, tangling their legs together and mouthing lazily at Scottie’s neck as the other boy catches his breath.

Once Scottie finally stops panting, he turns his head towards Vinn, who looks up and kisses him.

“Hell do you mean you've never done that before?” Scottie mumbles. Vinn laughs, shrugging and leaning back in to continue kissing him.

The two fall asleep not long after. Scottie had asked Vinn if he wanted him to do the same, but Vinn had just shook his head with a soft smile. They fall asleep curled around each other, Scottie's face buried in Vinn’s chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao


	17. Chapter 17

When Scottie wakes up, sunlight is streaming through his blinds and his room is warmer than usual. He blinks and feels his pillow moving slowly up and down, oddly enough. He lifts his head and realizes through his sleep-addled brain that his pillow is a human, a human with thick curly hair who’s fast asleep. Scottie smiles to himself, rolling off of Vinn and pulling on a shirt and shorts over the boxers he had slipped on after last night’s events. He steps outside his room and walks downstairs to see his parents sitting at the dining room table.

“Scottie,” his mother says. “Your father and I called you in sick today.”

Scottie nods. “Why?”

“You seem like you’ve been having a lot of trouble around school,” his father chimes in. “We thought you should take a day off. In fact, your mother and I have been talking… Would you ever want to move to a different school?”

Scottie blinks. He’s still in a bit of a daze, and his brain’s immediate answer is _Yes! Yes, absolutely, get me out of that hellhole!_ However, he takes a moment to think it over. The situation with Vinn had just gotten a lot better, and then there was Connie, Liberty, Rory, and Hollan… 

“No,” Scottie says slowly. “I’m… It’s getting better, way better. Vinn and I… We just became friends again. I wouldn’t want to move again and…” The words _’abandon him’_ stop on his tongue, and he’s quick to swallow them down. “I have friends, too. I’d miss them.”

Scottie’s mom nods. “We trust your judgement, sweetie. Just, if there are every any problems or you need to talk about something or if you change your mind, come straight to us, okay?”

Scottie smiles. “Okay.”

Scottie’s dad stands up, looking at his watch. “Glad we got that cleared up! I was wondering how long you’d sleep in, my boss might want to have a few choice words with me when I get to the office. I’ll see you this evening, alright kiddo?”

“See ya,” Scottie replies as his father kisses his mother on the cheek and disappears out of the room, his car starting up outside after a moment.

“I should get going too,” Scottie’s mom says. She gets up, picking up her purse. “Oh, and Scottie? Make sure he’s treating you right.”

Scottie’s face flushes, and he nods sheepishly. His mom smiles at him before leaving for work as well.

Scottie heads back upstairs once both of his parents are gone, and opens the door to see Vinn sitting up and stretching. Vinn opens his eyes as he hears the door open, and smiles softly at Scottie.

“Morning,” Vinn says.

“Morning,” Scottie replies. “My parents called me in sick. They, uh, know about us, by the way.”

“Thought so. Did they find out from the principal or from last night?”

Scottie’s face heats up. “I dunno. The first one, I hope.”

Vinn raises one eyebrow, a smug look on his face. He stands up and walks over to Scottie, pulling him in by the hips for an innocent kiss. Scottie brings his hands up to hold Vinn’s face carefully, running his thumb across Vinn’s cheekbone. Scottie pulls away and has to look away, too flustered to look Vinn in the eyes at the moment. Vinn laughs quietly and kisses him on the cheek before walking over to Scottie’s dresser.

“I might have some pajama pants that fit you,” Scottie offers as Vinn opens one of his drawers. Vinn roots through his dresser unceremoniously before emerging with a pair a sweatpants and a big black hoodie. He dresses quickly and follows Scottie downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Damn, you have the best cereal!” Vinn exclaims after opening one of the various cupboards. He pulls out a box of Lucky Charms and hugs it to his chest exaggeratedly.

Scottie laughs, getting two bowls and two pairs of spoons before setting them down and getting milk from the fridge. They make their respective bowls of cereal and retreat to the living room and onto the soft couch, curled up next to each other watching cartoons.

“So,” Vinn says at one point as commercials come on. “How ya doing?”

“I’m good,” Scottie responds, a smile on his face. “What about you?”

“Same over here.” Vinn shifts, putting his arm around Scottie’s shoulders. “Y’know, you’re really beautiful.”

Scottie turns to see Vinn staring at him, fondness in his eyes and a small smile on his face.

“So are you,” Scottie replies quietly.

“You were really beautiful last night, too.”

Scottie squeaks. “Vinn!” His face is heating up, but he can’t help but laugh. “Last night was… Really nice.”

“I’m glad,” Vinn murmurs, taking both of their bowls and putting them on the end table before pulling Scottie onto his lap. “I had fun.”

“You never…” Scottie shifts slightly, one hand going up to Vinn’s shoulder and the other around the back of his neck. “Y’know. Got off.”

“So what?” Vinn kisses Scottie’s neck, the smile still on his face. “Last night was about you.”

Scottie sighs quietly and tilts Vinn’s head up to kiss him properly. “You’re amazing,” he says.

“Not as amazing as you.” Vinn kisses him again, pulling him close. “Besides, I technically got off, just not in your hand.”

Scottie pulls back, one eyebrow raised. “What do you mean?”

Vinn shrugs. “I didn’t wanna sleep with blue balls, so I went to the bathroom--”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough!” Scottie interrupts. The two dissolve into laughter and eventually Scottie gets up, picking up the two bowls and putting them in the kitchen sink.

The day goes by quaintly. Vinn and Scottie continue their work, this time with music playing quietly in the background accompanied by light banter between the two. At one point, Vinn goes upstairs and comes back down with his phone in his hand. Scottie sits up, and two stare at each other briefly.

“Forty-three,” Vinn says quietly.

“Jesus,” Scottie sighs.

“Forty-three missed calls,” Vinn clarifies. “Over a hundred texts.”

Scottie’s jaw drops. “Holy shit. How many are from your mom?”

“Not that many.”

“That’s… That’s good, right?”

“It depends. I haven’t listened to any of the twenty-seven voicemails or read any of the texts.”

“C’mere.” Scottie holds his arms out and Vinn sits down next to him, hugging Scottie tightly. “We’ll look at them together, okay?” He feels Vinn nod against his shoulder before pulling away.

The texts from Vinn’s father are mostly sincere, asking him where he went and telling him that he won’t let Vinn’s mother do anything irrational, accompanied by many texts begging him to come home or at least text back to let his father know he’s okay. Vinn sends a single text, reading ‘ _im okay. at a friends house._ ’

The two then move on to texts from Vinn’s mother. They’re mostly just asking Vinn coldly to come home so they can talk it out, followed by thinly veiled threats. Vinn scrolls through them all and doesn’t bother texting back. He moves on to several texts from his friends. Kayce had texted him once, saying ‘ _your mom asked me to call you, says you ran off T_T lemme know if u get this and call your fucking mom back_ ’ Vinn doesn’t bother responding to that either. He opens his texts from Reg, and that’s where things get interesting.

At eight-fifty last night, Reg had texted Vinn eighteen times.

‘ _Yo vin, vinslice, vindog, vinnigoose, can we meet up and talk about some shit_

_I got a buncha shit to say_

_It’s not bad by the way!! I just wanna like,,,,,,,,talk about stuff_

_Like.. You’re a friend and i don’t wanna see you hurtin and all_

_Oh and your mom texted me, she thinks youre with me_

_You should go home bro_

_Your mom seemed worried_

_Ok no she didnt but_

_Yknow_

_I care_

_Kayce is going through some rough shit and i kno thats not an excuse but i think he,,alright i have no fuckin idea whats going on in his head but i know he doesnt hate you probably_

_Tetx me back bro_

_Tetx_

_Tetx_

_FUCK_

_Text_

_There we go_

_Ok goodnight_ ’

And that’s where it had ended. Vinn tosses his phone onto the couch with a sigh.

“God, I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a shitstorm,” he says.

“I’m kinda the one who dragged you into it,” Scottie says quietly.

“Yeah, by being cute.”

Scottie ignores the blush that must be on his face. “No, I meant dragging you out of your house like that. I wanted to protect you and all, but now your folks might be calling the police…”

“That’s more than I’ve ever done to protect you.”

Scottie frowns. “I don’t think that matters.”

“It does,” Vinn replies. “It really, really does. I don’t want you to have to stand up for me, Scottie, not after everything I’ve done. I froze up when my mom hit me, but I shouldn’t have. I guess sometimes it’s necessary to stand up for one another, but I want to be able to look after myself, alright?”

Scottie nods slowly. “Okay,” he responds. “But… It’s the same the other way around.”

“Wait, what?”

“I don’t want to be something you have to protect,” Scottie says. “I can look after myself- I’ve been doing that for years. Don’t act like my bodyguard, okay?”

Vinn bites his lip. “But what about Kayce?”

“We deal with this together, we don’t deal with it alone so the other person doesn’t have to.”

Vinn sighs. “Okay. But, if a fight every starts up, please just run. I really, really don’t want you getting hurt.”

Scottie nods, smiling reassuringly. “I know how to take care of myself, Vinn. Don’t worry.”

Vinn pulls Scottie into a hug, his grip tight but comforting. Scottie relaxes and rests his head on Vinn’s shoulder, closing his eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

Vinn leaves late in the afternoon, before Scottie’s parents come home. Vinn gives Scottie a lasting hug followed by a heated kiss that almost leads him to stay a little longer, but he pulls himself away and waves goodbye as he walks down the pavement.

As he walks home, he runs through what he’ll say in his head over and over. His house is only a couple blocks from Scottie’s, and the walk feels like it took five seconds. He’s suddenly right outside his door, and then he’s unlocking it, and then he’s walking in to face his father.

“Vinn!” Vinn’s father stands up. “Where on earth were you?”

“I was at a friend’s house,” Vinn mumbles, setting down his backpack. “I texted you.”

“You didn’t specify anything,” Vinn’s father protests. “For all I knew, you could’ve been kidnapped and murdered and whoever was texting me was just pretending to be you.”

“Dad, calm down,” Vinn says. “I just needed some time, alright? I’ve done this before. Where’s mom?”

“She’s in the office,” Vinn’s father says. His tone becomes more stern. “Don’t run off like that again, do you hear me?”

“You say that every time.” Vinn walks into the kitchen and looks around. Vinn’s father sighs, exasperated.

“Your mother told me what happened.”

Vinn freezes. “Okay.”

“I’m trying to talk to her. I’m sorry.”

Vinn lets out a breath, feeling heat build up behind his eyes and a lump form in his throat. “Did she tell you she hit me again?”

“Yes,” Vinn’s father replies solemnly. “We’re… Going to have a stern talk about it.”

“A stern talk,” Vinn echoes. “Sure. Did she mention that she was sober when she hit me?”

“I could tell that she was.”

Vinn takes a deep breath. He doesn’t want to cry anymore. He’s done with that. “I don’t want to stay here.”

“Enough,” his father says quietly.

“I don’t want to stay here,” Vinn repeats, louder this time. “If this is how I’m going to get treated even when she’s sober.”

“I’m trying, Vinnigan--”

“No, you’re not!” Vinn shouts, turning towards his father. “You’re just hiding in the corner like a coward! If you cared, you would try to stop her, or actually stand up to her, or do anything other than tell me that you’re sorry afterwards!”

Vinn’s father storms up to Vinn, staring him down. “You will not talk to me that way in my own house, do you hear me?”

“It’s barely your house! You just live here, letting mom prance around with all her fucking alcohol and crack or whatever, only bothering to step out of the room when she turns towards me! You haven’t done shit for me, or this house, or for mom! You’re--”

Vinn is cut off by a fist hitting his jaw. He recoils, holding his hand to his face gingerly as blood spills from his newly busted lip.

“Go to your room,” his father commands. “Right now. If this is how you’re going to act, then you don’t deserve to live under this roof either.”

“Dad--”

“Go to your room!” his father shouts, startling Vinn and making him shrink back, shoulders hunched and head bowed. Vinn makes his way past his father and picks up his backpack, walking upstairs.

Vinn shuts his door, wishing he could lock it. He collapses on his bed and grabs a couple tissues from his dresser to hold over his lip. The small wound stops bleeding quickly enough, but there’s still a resounding ache where he had been hit. He hopes it won’t leave a bruise, not while his face is still recovering from Kayce’s rampage. Vinn walks over to the mirror over his dresser.

His lower lip is split in two different places now. There’s a dark, harsh bruise dancing across his right cheekbone that melts into an ugly black eye. His nose is still deciding between shades of purple, brown, and yellow, and his jaw is marked with large splotches of black and blue. Vinn looks up into his own eyes. He doesn’t see any expression, or happiness, or even any trace of light in them. He sees a corpse standing upright, staring back at him the mirror.

Vinn tears himself away from the mirror and falls into bed, falling asleep quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my dudes............when should the next smut chapter be


	19. Chapter 19

When Vinn wakes up, it’s four in the morning the next day and he’s starving. He gets up and plugs in his phone to charge before stumbling downstairs and pouring himself a bowl of bland cereal. He stands in the kitchen and eats, staring out the window at the dark sky. He turns his gaze to the kitchen he’s standing in, and his stomach fills with an uncertain sort of dread. He finishes eating and puts his bowl in the sink before heading upstairs. He lays back on his bed and closes his eyes, enjoying the brief silence in his house.

A couple hours later, Vinn is showered and walking to school with his earbuds blasting Muse. His music keeps him from hearing Scottie running up behind him until he gets tapped on the shoulder and flinches.

“Jesus christ!” Vinn says, taking out his earbuds. “You scared the hell out of me. Where’s your bike?”

“Decided not to take it,” Scottie replies, smiling. “What are you listening to?”

Vinn glances down at his phone. “Psycho by Muse,” he answers. Scottie’s eyes light up.

“You listen to Muse?!”

Vinn finds himself chuckling at how excited Scottie is. “Yeah, they’re really good.”

“I thought nobody else liked Muse, oh my god!” Scottie grins. “What’s your favorite song?”

“Hm… Probably Supermassive Black Hole,” Vinn says.

“Mine is Starlight.”

“I haven’t heard that one before,” Vinn says.

“It’s so good!” Scottie squeals as they start walking to school. 

They spend the short walk talking about Muse and other bands, sharing suggestions and singing off-key. When they get to school, they go their separate ways for first period. Vinn walks into chemistry to see Reg sitting at their usual table, Kayce sitting across the room. Vinn sits down and smiles at Reg, who frowns at him.

“Why didn’t you answer my texts?” he asks.

“I was busy fucking my boyfriend,” Vinn says smoothly.

Reg’s face flushes red. “The fuck?”

Vinn laughs at Reg’s shocked expression. “Kidding. I was tired.”

Reg huffs. “You could’ve at least let me know you were alive.”

Vinn shrugs, and the two turn their attention to the front of the room as their teacher starts his lecture. He goes on for an unnecessary amount of time, completely losing Vinn in the process, and Vinn eventually resigns to hiding his phone under the desk and scrolling through social media. When the teacher finally finishes and hands out an assignment that very few in the class actually know how to do, Vinn looks up.

“God, what a windbag,” Reg mutters, taking out his pencil. “I have no fucking clue how to do this.”

“Windbag?” Vinn asks, looking up the worksheet to find the answer key.

“Like, someone who goes on and on about nothing in particular,” Reg says casually. “Like Polonius from Hamlet.”

“Like who?” Vinn finds the answer key and texts the link to Reg before texting it to Scottie too, knowing that he has chemistry at some point in the day.

Reg sighs, exasperated. “Ophelia’s father. We’re reading Hamlet in English, dude, come on.”

Vinn snorts. “You think I’m actually paying attention?”

“It’s an interesting story,” Reg mutters, opening the answer key and copying it down onto his worksheet. 

He and Vinn work in relative silence for the rest of the period, finishing the worksheet and turning it in and spending the rest of the class period flicking their pencils at each other until their teacher whacks Vinn on the back of the head with a paperback book. Reg is practically crying as Vinn pretends to be dead. The teacher doesn’t fall for it, obviously, and the bell rings shortly after anyway.

“You said there’s something going on with Kayce,” Vinn mentions as the two are walking through the halls.

“I also said I have no idea what it is,” Reg replies, shoving a freshman out of his way. The freshman tries to yell at him, but Reg just shoves him into a locker and keeps walking. He and Vinn laugh to each other before continuing.

“I would talk to him, but he kinda put me and my boyfriend in the hospital.”

There’s a pause. “So you and the fairy are official, then?”

“His name is Scottie, and yes.”

“So… You’re a fairy too?”

“Do I look like a fairy to you?”

Reg holds his hands up in surrender. “I don’t mean to be ignorant, i just don’t know anything about… that. I dunno what this means.”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Vinn says. “Aside from the fact that I’m now dating someone.”

“So you’re gonna stop sleeping around at parties?”

“Yep.”

Reg whistles. “Good luck with that.”

“Hey, I can stay loyal!” Vinn protests, shoving Reg aside playfully. 

They fall into a comfortable silence and take a moment to sit down on a window seat behind the lockers. Vinn stares out at the yard in front of the school and lets out a breath.

“We should hang out more,” Vinn says quietly. “We haven’t been doing that lately.”

“We never really did,” Reg says lightly. “But I get it. I’m still close to the bottom.”

“The bottom?”

“Of the social ladder,” Reg clarifies. “Y’know. I knew your thing, really. You were at the top.”

Vinn’s posture droops a bit. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry or anything,” Reg says. He looks over at Vinn. “Look, man, I get what you were going through. Popularity sucks.”

“What are you talking about? Compared to what kids like Scottie went through, popularity is heaven.”

“Doesn’t really matter who you think had it worse,” Reg muses. “When there’s that big of a divide, both sides will always end up hurt. That’s just kinda how everything works.”

Vinn sighs. “School is kinda fucked.”

“Yep,” Reg agrees. “But we’ll be outta here soon, yeah?”

The bell rings, and Reg curses quietly. He and Vinn get up and make their way to their class. As they sit down, Vinn can’t help but let the teacher’s shrill voice become nothing more than white noise as a different thought stays stuck in his head.

_Will I ever get out of here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> projection who?? never heard of her


	20. Chapter 20

The school day is relatively uneventful. Vinn meets Scottie by the bike rack after school, and the two walk back to Scottie’s house. As soon as they get up to Scottie’s room, Vinn is kissing him.

Scottie’s back hits his closed door and he kisses back after a moment of shocked stillness. Vinn is hurried and passionate, but he stops himself from pushing it too far at first. His hands stayed firm on Scottie’s waist, though he itches to trail them under Scottie’s shirt and beneath the waist of his jeans. He just wants to let out the anger and frustration from the day, from the week, from the past two years. He wants to convey the anger he had felt whenever he saw someone giving him and Scottie a dirty look in the hallways, or whenever he would overhear the conversations other students were having. He realizes he’s gone a little too far when he bites Scottie’s lip and Scottie yelps, pushing him away.

Scottie wipes his mouth, running his fingers over his bottom lip and looking up at Vinn. “Is everything alright?”

Vinn sighs, frustrated. “I don’t wanna get into it.”

Scottie purses his lips, and his expression shows that he’s getting equally annoyed. He levels his expression and puts his hands on Vinn’s shoulders, pulling him into a brief hug.

“You don’t have to if you really don’t want to,” Scottie murmurs next to his ear. “But I think it would help to talk it out, okay?”

Vinn tugs on his lower lip with his teeth, pulling away and looking down at Scottie. There’s a cloud of doubt surrounding the mere idea of letting it out yet again. He’s cried enough, he’s screamed enough, it’s done. Over with. It’s time for him to man up and stop being so sensitive.

“I’m fine,” Vinn says quietly. “I’m sorry for biting you.”

“It’s okay,” Scottie replies. His face shows obvious doubt, which Vinn chooses to ignore. He’s tired. Scottie cracks a small smile. “Don’t go all vampire on me, alright?”

Vinn laughs through his nose, the side of his mouth quirking upwards. That’s about as much as he can muster right now. Scottie notices this, and seems to be considering something. His face shows his entire process of thought, and Vinn can’t help but watch, fascinated. Scottie comes to his conclusion and looks up at Vinn, leaning up and kissing him.

Vinn kisses back, wondering to himself where this is going as Scottie slowly walks them backwards until they’re sprawled on Scottie’s bed. Scottie is still above him, kissing him heatedly with a hint of apprehension, most likely from not having much experience. He’s grinding his hips down onto Vinn’s slowly and carefully. Vinn finds himself reciprocating, his hands finding themselves under Scottie’s shirt, pushing it up to his shoulders. Scottie sits up and strips his shirt off, tossing it across the room before leaning back down and continuing to kiss Vinn. Vinn lets Scottie continue to lead, carefully treading along the slow pace Scottie has set. The pace starts to speed up, and Vinn can feel hesitation in Scottie’s movements that he hasn’t felt before. He frowns to himself.

Scottie sits up suddenly, breathing heavily. “I still haven’t repaid you for that night,” he says softly. Vinn raises an eyebrow.

“Thought I said you didn’t have to repay me anything,” Vinn responds.

“Well, I want to,” Scottie says, leaning down and nipping at Vinn’s neck.

“Hang on--” Vinn moves his hands to the fronts of Scottie’s shoulders and pushes him back up, sitting up himself. “You know you’re not obligated to do anything, right?”

Scottie blinks. “I know, but--”

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re feeling obligated,” Vinn interrupts. “Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” Scottie says honestly. “I’m worried about you--”

“You don’t have to have sex with me cause I’m a bad mood,” Vinn interrupts again, confused. “Where’d you get that idea?”

“I’m not-- I’m not doing that.”

“I think you are,” Vinn says softly. He stands up, carrying Scottie, and puts his boyfriend down on the bed before walking over to where Scottie had thrown his shirt and picking it up. He hands Scottie his shirt, and Scottie puts it on quickly, staring down at his lap.

“I’m sorry,” Scottie says quietly. Vinn sits down next to him and pulls him into a hug.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Vinn says as Scottie hugs him back. He pulls away and stares Scottie in the eyes. “You don’t have to do anything for my benefit alone, okay? Especially not something like sex. That goes strictly at your pace, regardless of how I’m feeling.”

“Unless I want to and you don’t,” Scottie adds on, staring back at Vinn.

“Yep.” Vinn nods and pecks Scottie on the lips before standing up. His anger seems to have melted, replaced with a warm feeling swirling in his chest that grows every time he looks over at Scottie. “Wanna play Mario Kart?”

Scottie grins, and Vinn feels like his heart might explode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda feels like i'm losing my focus within the story. do you guys feel the same way? i'll try to get back to the point anyway, though... i'm not sure what the solid end point is.


	21. Chapter 21

Scottie wakes up one night to his phone ringing, loud and jarring. He makes an annoyed noise and rolls over in his bed, reaching blindly for his phone and finding it on the floor next to his bed. He groans, figuring it must have fallen off the bed at some point. He sees Vinn’s contact picture and answers quickly.

“What’s goin’ on?” Scottie mumbles, slurring his words.

“Did I wake you up?” Vinn asks after a short pause.

“Mm-hm.”

Scottie hears Vinn laugh over the phone, and smiles to himself.

“Dude, it’s like, eleven on a Friday. How early do you go to sleep?”

“I gotta get my eight hours to maintain this beautiful face,” Scottie replies, a lazy smile on his face. He hears Vinn laugh again.

“Fair enough.”

“Why are you calling me at such an unreasonable hour?”

“Unreasonable my ass,” Scottie hears Vinn mumble, and the two of them laugh. “I’m calling cause I had the dreaded talk with my parents.

Scottie sits up in his bed, suddenly wide awake. “Oh, shit. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. My mom didn’t hit me again, thankfully.” Vinn laughs, as if cueing Scottie to do the same, but Scottie’s doesn’t. Vinn clears his throat. “Uh, neither did my dad. We just kinda talked. My mom- very begrudgingly, mind you- told me that it’s okay if I experiment with this if I feel like it’s something I need to explore.”

“Ugh.”

“I know, right? Anyway, my dad is way more supportive. He told me it’s okay, and that he’ll keep mom off my back. He’s doing better nowadays.”

“That’s good,” Scottie says. “I… still don’t think it was okay for him to hit you.”

“I was being an idiot--” Vinn starts, but Scottie interrupts him.

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No, no, I know it doesn’t make it okay,” Vinn hurries to clarify. “But I can kinda see why he did it, when he usually doesn’t. I touched a nerve or something.”

Scottie sighs. “Please just promise me that if anything else happens, you’ll come straight to my house.”

“I will,” Vinn reassures him. Scottie lets out a breath, laying back down in his bed and relaxing.

“I…” Scottie bites his tongue, stopping short.

“You?” Vinn prompts quietly.

“Um,” Scottie’s face is burning by now. “It’s, uh, nothing.”

“Two stutters,” Vinn says, Scottie can hear that he’s smirking. “You can say whatever you’re thinking, y’know. I won’t bite.”

Scottie makes a disappointed hum, and Vinn bursts out laughing. Scottie grins, listening to Vinn’s laughter and letting his smile grow when he hears the little snort at the end of Vinn’s laugh.

“Well, unless you want me to!” Vinn laughs. Scottie giggles, before snapping his mouth shut. Vinn caught the small sound, however. “Scottie-- Did you just giggle?”

“Maybe,” Scottie mumbles. Vinn continues laughing, and Scottie joins him. “I should go back to sleep, I’m tired.”

“Gotta get that beauty sleep,” Vinn agrees. “Can we hang out tomorrow?”

Scottie snorts. “I didn’t know couples _hung out._ ”

“Well alright, how about we go on a date?”

Scottie can’t say that he wasn’t expecting that, but he still sputters and stumbles over his reply. “Um, sure! I’d love to.”

“Alright, we’ll work out details in the morning! Goodnight Scotts!”

“Night,” Scottie replies. He’s smiling as he hangs up, and his smile only fades as he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter, but i gotta get Ready for the dreaded date chapter >.<


	22. Chapter 22

The next day, Scottie wakes up to sunlight in his eyes. This time, though, it doesn’t bother him as much as it usually does. He gets up feeling refreshed for once in his life, and goes about his morning routine. After a shower, breakfast, and Saturday morning cartoons, Scottie sits back down on his bed and picks up his phone. He doesn’t have any messages from Vinn, so he gathers up the courage to take initiative and call him.

Vinn picks up after five rings- not that Scottie was counting. “Hey, what’s up baby bup?” Vinn’s voice is low and sleepy.

“What the hell is a baby bup?”

“You are what you eat.”

Scottie flops onto his back on the bed, sighing loudly into the phone. “Is this what you act like when you’re tired?”

“I’m basically fucking wasted,” Vinn answers, a smile audible in his voice.

“Keen,” Scottie deadpans. “Anyway, what are the plans for today?”

“Hm…” Vinn hums into the phone, and Scottie is mildly surprised at how the noise makes something stir in his chest, dropping down to his stomach in a pleasant way. “How ‘bout we go to the Cedar-Lee Theatre? I think they’re showing some twenties shit today.”

“You know I love twenties shit,” Scottie says.

“I sure do. How about it? I’ll pay.”

“Sounds great.” Scottie can’t help the blush that crawls up his neck and spreads across his face. “You’re… No, nevermind, that’s lame.”

“What is it?” Scottie can hear Vinn shifting around on his bed. “Can’t leave me hangin’ like that.”

“I was gonna say you’re a nineteen-twenties gentleman, but that sounds weird,” Scottie mutters. 

Vinn is quiet for a moment. “Is that a challenge?”

“Not anything remotely close to that, no.”

“You’re on! I’ll pick you up at four, cupcake!”

_Click._

Scottie can’t help but laugh as he tosses his phone onto the bed next to him. He wonders to himself what the challenge will entail, or if he should dress up too. He walks over to his closet and pushes his shirts and sweaters to reveal a modest, simple dress. He’s always had an interest in girl’s clothing, and he had seen a fluffy blue dress and couldn’t resist ordering it. He takes it out of his closet and changes into it, putting on some simple white socks and black Vans. Scottie looks in his full-length mirror and smiles at himself. _I look pretty fuckin’ good._

Several hours later, Scottie hears a knock on his door and his heart jumps with anxiety. He rushes to the door and opens it to see Vinn wearing a dark gray dress shirt tucked into dark brown slacks, topped off with black dress shoes and a dark brown jacket. He’s holding a gorgeous bouquet of marigolds, daisies, and carnations. Scottie’s jaw drops, and so does Vinn’s. The two stand there for a little while, staring at each other.

“Wow,” Vinn says after a while.

“Right back at you,” Scottie replies quietly.

“I’m seriously fighting the urge to stay in today and see where things go,” Vinn admits.

Scottie feels blush climbing up his neck and onto his face. “Maybe afterwards?” He’s surprisingly flustered, despite having been dating Vinn for several weeks.

Vinn lets out a small laugh, smirking at Scottie. “We’ll see how the date goes.” He holds out the bouquet. “I picked this up on my way here. I hope you’re not allergic.”

“I’m allergic to how fucking cute you’re being,” Scottie responds, taking the bouquet. He takes a moment to smell the flowers, grinning like an idiot. “Is there a special occasion?”

“It’s national Twenties Gentleman Day,” Vinn responds, leaning against the doorframe. 

Scottie scoffs. “That’s not a thing.”

“Well, I just made it a thing.”

Scottie can’t help but laugh. “Fair enough. I’m gonna go put these in a vase, come on in!”

Scottie pours some water in a vase before snipping a little bit off the stems of the flowers and setting them in the water. 

“What does that do?” Vinn asks, observing how Scottie cuts the stems at an angle.

“I think it helps them live longer,” Scottie responds, putting down the scissors and brushing the small bits of stem into his hand. “Something about getting more water.”

Vinn nods, impressed. He holds out his hand. “Shall we?”

Scottie takes ahold of Vinn’s hand as they walk out of the house, but Scottie immediately stops walking.

“You have a car?!” Scottie exclaims. There’s a black 2017 Audi in the driveway. 

“Ha, no, it’s my dad’s. He’s letting me borrow it.”

“Do you have a driver’s license?”

Vinn puts a finger to his lips before leading Scottie to the car and opening the door for him. Scottie smiles at him, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. Vinn looks down at him and leans in to kiss him quickly.

“You really do look amazing,” Vinn murmurs against Scottie’s lips.

“You do too,” Scottie whispers back, still smiling as Vinn pulls lightly on his lower lip before letting go and stepping back. He walks to the driver’s side of the car, and the two take off for the theatre.

Scottie can’t ignore the fact that he gets some strange looks walking down Lee and into the theatre. He starts to regret wearing a dress, but Vinn puts his arm around Scottie’s waist and gives him a warm smile, dissipating most of Scottie’s anxiety in an instant. They pay for their tickets and get a large popcorn and two slushies before walking into the theatre and sitting down near the back. As the movie starts, Vinn pretends to yawn and drapes his arm over Scottie’s shoulders. Scottie stifles a laugh at how silly Vinn is acting, but leans into him anyway. At one point Vinn seems to get distracted from the movie as he takes a break to kiss Scottie, the kiss slowly growing until Scottie pulls away, laughing and saying they should stop making out in a theatre. Vinn counters that that’s the best part of being in a theatre, but Scottie just shakes his head with a smile on his face and diverts his attention back to the screen.

The movie goes by, and Scottie manages not to cry at a certain character death (it was the dog). He and Vinn exit the theatre and drive to the local park to enjoy the nice weather.

“What did you think of the movie?” Scottie asks as they’re walking along a path next to Lake Tenacity, which is more like a very large pond.

“It was pretty good,” Vinn replies. He takes ahold of Scottie’s hand. “But I liked kissing you more.”

Scottie can’t help but cover his face with his free hand. “God, you’re too much today,” he says, despite the smile on his face.

“I guess you could say that I’m being quite gentlemanly!” Vinn gives Scottie a peck on the cheek.

The two step off the path and go to sit down on a bench looking over the lake. Scottie scoots close to Vinn, resting his head on Vinn’s shoulder.

“This is really nice,” Scottie says quietly.

Vinn hums quietly in agreement. He lifts Scottie’s chin so they’re looking at each other and kisses him softly and innocently. Scottie’s face is starting to ache from how much he’s been smiling.

“This is kinda cliche,” Scottie points out after a while.

Vinn laughs quietly. “So? Doesn’t matter if we’re cliche or stereotypical, all that matters is whether or not you’re happy.”

Scottie looks up at Vinn. “Whether or not we’re happy,” he corrects him.

There’s something in Vinn’s expression that grows melancholy. He smiles sadly at his boyfriend and nods once before looking back towards the lake.

At one point, Vinn suggests that they get something to eat. Scottie agrees and the two make their way back to the car. As they’re settling in, Scottie looks over at Vinn.

“This is kinda weird, but could we stop by my house? I wanna change into a more casual outfit.”

“Only if you really want to,” Vinn insists. “I still think you look amazing in that dress, and anyone who doesn’t think the same can eat my entire ass.”

Scottie cracks up. “I know, and thank you. I just don’t wanna stand out much. Doesn’t have all that much to do with what other people think.”

“Hm, alright. But I really hope you wear that dress again sometime soon.”

After a quick stop at Scottie’s house, the two are off again. Scottie had swapped out his dress for a pair of black jeans and a light gray sweater over a white collared shirt with black spots. As he walks back out to where Vinn is leaning against the car, he’s swept up into a warm embrace.

“You’re really amazing,” Vinn says quietly. Scottie hugs him back tightly.

Now they’re sitting in a cafe with sandwiches in front of both of them, as well as a large basket of fries. Scottie is admittedly extremely nervous about eating in front of Vinn, as he’s not the neatest eater. He’s immediately relieved though, as Vinn doesn’t seem to care that much. The two finish their food through simple small-talk, and then they head back to Vinn’s car.

Scottie is sitting in the back seat on Vinn’s lap, kissing him slowly. Vinn’s hand stay planted on Scottie’s waist, which he greatly appreciates. His other hand is combing through Scottie’s hair, which Scottie appreciates even more. Scottie breaks the kiss and buries his face in Vinn’s neck, feeling like he could fall asleep right here. The sun had set ages ago by now, and the cool night air coming in through the open car window made Scottie shiver slightly. Vinn notices and wraps his arms around Scottie’s back, pulling him even closer.

“I love you,” Scottie whispers.

“Hm?” Vinn asks. Scottie stiffens slightly.

“Nothing,” he says. “You should stay the night at my house.”

“Sure thing, cupcake.”

Scottie cracks up. “Don’t call me that, we’re done with the weird twenties gentleman thing.”

“Done? I shall never be done being a weird twenties gentleman. On Monday I’m gonna come into school with penny loafers and a messenger bag.”

“And a newsies cap?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

The two laugh, and Scottie relaxes again. Eventually the two have to separate to drive to Scottie’s house. They change into their pajamas and lay in bed, kissing occasionally until they fall asleep in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i thought i'd give you guys something nice ^^ i was totally dreading writing this, but it actually made me really really happy and, surprisingly, even progressed the story!! what do you think should happen next?


	23. Chapter 23

It’s really true that time flies when you’re having fun. Scottie had barely noticed the next several months speeding past until he’s biking up to school for finals week. He's incredibly tired, having studied all night, and feels like he could fall asleep on his bike. He hasn't brought his helmet today, still insecure about looking like a loser, so he makes sure to keep himself awake at every crosswalk and stoplight. 

As he rides, Scottie thinks back over the past couple months. The bullying disappeared pretty quickly, as it was mainly coming from Kayce and whoever was dumb enough to follow after him and laugh at whatever he said. Kayce had gone dormant, resigning to death glares and looking over at Vinn and Scottie like they’re gum on the bottom of his shoe. The two had gotten used to it quickly, and learned to ignore it most of the time. The times they didn’t ignore it, they joked about it. At one point, Scottie could’ve sworn Kayce was about to snap again when he had made a remark towards Kayce about being jealous of him. Vinn had dragged Scottie out of the room pretty quickly after that, which Scottie had protested before Vinn had admitted that he was legitimately scared of Kayce in that moment.

Scottie finally reaches his school, hopping off of his bike and stumbling slightly before locking it up and walking inside. He can feel someone walking right behind him, uncomfortably close. At one point he finally turns around to confront the person, expecting Vinn teasing him light-heartedly, only to see another student he recognizes as a senior named Landen. Since Landen was standing so close to him already, Scottie stopping and turning has put them in an awkward position. Landen smirks down at him, and Scottie’s skin crawls.

“What, is your boyfriend not enough? Are you coming onto me, too?” The senior asks him. Scottie groans, rolling his eyes.

“Quit being a creep,” he mutters, adjusting his backpack. As he turns to keep walking, he’s suddenly shoved forward onto the floor. He lands oddly on his elbow, and can’t help but make a pained noise. 

“Hey!” A loud yell echoes through the hallway, and Scottie looks up to see Vinn striding towards them. “What the fuck was that?”

“Your boyfriend was trying to feel me up,” Landen lies, putting his hands up as if he were completely innocent.

“As fucking if,” Vinn growls, shoving Landen back. “Keep your hands off of him.”

“Why don’t you let him have a say in this?” Landen asks. “You’re acting like you own him.”

Vinn casts a glance back at Scottie before staring Landen down. “He doesn’t want anything to do with you, pervert. Back the fuck off.”

Landen rolls his eyes and puts his hand on Vinn’s forehead, pushing him back. Vinn looks like he’s practically steaming at the ears, but he can’t do anything as Landen turns and walks away without another word. Scottie picks himself up off the floor and pats Vinn’s shoulder. Vinn seems to snap out of his hate-filled trance, and his eyes soften immediately when he looks at Scottie.

“Sorry, Scotts.” Vinn sighs. “You know about him, right?”

“Not really,” Scottie says. “What’s he all about?”

“He’s all about being a total dick. He’s a major creep, borderline pervert.”

“Yikes,” Scottie replies. “Thanks for coming to my aid, knight in shining armor.”

“Anything for you,” Vinn replies, holding Scottie’s face gently and pecking him on the lips. “Gotta get to my chem final now. I’ll see you at lunch, alright?”

Scottie smiles at him. “Okay.”

The three finals for that day go by rather quickly. Scottie blanks on more than a few questions on his chemistry final as well as his math final, but he figures that he’ll pass anyway. Lunch goes by just as fast too. Scottie eats with Vinn and his friends, complaining to each other about the tests and sharing information. Vinn has slowly been integrated into Scottie’s friend group, and Reg is currently trying to ease himself in as well. Vinn relays to the rest of them that Reg doesn’t have to take any of the finals, cueing shouts of protest and jealousy from the others. 

“Do you want to come over?” Vinn asks Scottie as they’re walking to the bike racks.

“To _your_ house?” Scottie asks in disbelief.

Vinn laughs. “Yeah, for once. My parents are out. They’re actually out a lot, but, y’know… It’s a messy house. But I’ve cleaned up a bit! Plus my house is kinda massive, so...”

After that afternoon, Vinn’s house is finally ‘unlocked’ as another spot to hang out. Scottie’ father has been joking that Vinn is over so often that he ought to be paying rent, and Vinn’s beautiful three-story house is preferable to Scottie’s more modest house.

(“I really don’t see the problem with being at your house!” Vinn says as they’re laying on Vinn’s bed.

“My house has one story,” Scottie replies. “Your has three whole-ass floors. It’s amazing.”

“Your house has a soul,” Vinn jokes.

“I don’t care if the house has a soul, I care if you have a soul!”

Vinn looks at him oddly.

“That… I didn’t think through that sentence. As in, I only care if you’re in the house, cause you’re the soul of the house. Is that better?”

Vinn can’t help but laugh as Scottie struggles to express himself. He leans forward and kisses Scottie. “Yeah, I get it.”)

Summer begins and Scottie’s life continues to go uphill. He and Vinn grow closer, regaining the bond they had back in elementary school. Scottie finally finds himself trusting Vinn. Those paranoid thoughts scratching at his brain start to die down, and while they’ll probably never be fully gone, they no longer manage to drown out Scottie’s rational thoughts and keep him awake at night. 

He can finally wake up feeling safe, knowing that he’s cradled in the arms of someone he loves. He can finally go to school feeling confident, knowing that Vinn’s got his back and he’s got Vinn’s. 

Finally, he’s satisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM RN.  
> should i end it here with a quick, happy ending or should i keep it going? i feel like i've been tempting fate with how well things have gone between vinn and scotts... there's always the third act low point, and while i definitely don't want to follow that as gospel, i feel like there should be more to the story. maybe something more about kayce. i could always do a bonus story, i suppose, but... ahh i don't know! what do you guys think? would you be okay with it ending here?


	24. Chapter 24

Like every couple, Scottie and Vinn have their fallouts. They have their little fights over things that don’t matter in the long-run, and Vinn will occasionally storm out of the apartment they share to go for a walk to clear his mind.

It’s four years later, and Scottie is alone in the apartment, left to simmer in self-pity and irritation. He can barely remember what he and Vinn were arguing about- it might have been about Scottie working a job while being in college- all he knows now is that the apartment feels empty and cold. He’s never enjoyed being alone in a place that should be filled with laughter and a familiar sense of _home._ Now, as he sits on the couch and flips through various TV channels, he just regrets insisting on keeping a job. They probably don’t need the extra money anyway, and Scottie’s grades in college have been suffering…

Scottie is pulled out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. It’s unlike Vinn’s knock, it’s heavier and yet more unsure. Scottie’s fairly certain that Vinn had taken his keys with him, too. Scottie gets up and hesitantly walks over to the door, opening it slowly and peeking out at the tall figure before him.

“Kayce?!”

Kayce Koran is standing several feet back from the door, his hands in his pockets and his expression surprised. He’s still perfectly recognizable- not to say that he hasn’t changed at all. He’s got the same square face and masculine, blunt features, but his eyes don’t carry the same bitterness that they did all throughout high school. He’s still absurdly tall, as well. Scottie had grown, of course, but it’s still surprising to look that far upwards just to meet someone’s eyes.

“Uh, yeah! It’s me,” Kayce says awkwardly. His voice the kind of deep male voice that’s naturally loud, though it’s not nearly as threatening now.

Scottie blinks. “Not to be rude, but… What are you doing here?”

Kayce seems oddly nervous. “I came to… apologize. For everything I did back in high school.”

Of all things Scottie was expecting, that was near the bottom of the list. “...Oh.”

“Is, uh, Vinn home? You two live together, right?”

“Yeah, but he’s not in. He’s… Running errands.”

Kayce cracks an awkward smile. “Domestic,” he comments. Scottie gives him a weak laugh before opening the door fully.

“Come on in, I guess.”

Kayce walks in, taking off his heavy engineer boots and shrugging off his thick flannel jacket to hang it on a coat rack beside the door. 

“So, elephant in the room,” Kayce says awkwardly, still lingering in the apartment’s small foyer. “I owe you guys an explanation. Er, not even an explanation- just an apology. Scott, I’m so, so sorry for how I treated you and Vinn and everyone else.”

Scottie’s mouth has gone dry. He doesn’t know how to respond, so he doesn’t. Kayce continues talking.

“I talked to Reg and someone who knew you- her name was Rory, I’m pretty sure- and they told me about how you guys were doing nowadays… I really just couldn’t keep it out of my head. I really needed to come here and tell you guys that I’m sorry.”

Scottie nods slowly. “Where did you go after tenth grade?” He’s referring to how when everyone walked back into school for eleventh grade, Kayce was nowhere to be seen. Any teachers who were asked only gave the vague answer that he transferred schools. Only Reg had stayed in contact with him, and he had relayed to the others that Kayce wasn’t talking much.

“My folks sent me off to a boarding school up north,” Kayce responds. “At the time I was furious, but it… It gave me time. I--”

Kayce is cut off by the door suddenly opening, and Vinn walks in. He’s looking down at his shoes as he shrugs off his coat with a heavy sigh.

“Scottie, I’m sorry for running off like that,” Vinn says, hanging up his coat. “It was a stupid argument. If you’re up for it, we can bang it out--”

Scottie clears his throat loudly, and Vinn finally looks over and sees Kayce standing there very awkwardly.

“Oh, shit,” Vinn says quietly. “Uh… Kayce. Hi.”

“Hey, man.”

Scottie’s face is bright red, needless to say. “I’m sorry you heard that, Kayce…”

Kayce manages an awkward laugh. “It’s alright. Uh, Vinn…” Vinn looks expectantly at him. “I stopped by to apologize for everything I did during high school. I.. I just wanted to see you guys again, and to say that.”

Vinn is staring at Kayce. Both of them had grown, but Vinn is still a little bit shorter than Kayce. Without warning, Vinn strides over to Kayce and pulls him into a hug, patting his back firmly.

“Missed you, man.” Vinn pulls away, smiling up at Kayce. “I’m really glad you stopped by. Do you wanna stay for dinner?”

Kayce smiles back as the tension dissipates. “I really want to, but I should get back home. My, uh…” He takes a breath. “My husband’s making dinner tonight, he’ll be upset if I show up full.”

Vinn’s jaw drops, and so does Scottie’s. They exchange shocked glances before Vinn practically tackles Kayce in another hug. They’re both laughing, and Scottie can’t help but grin.

“I’m so proud of you, Kayce!” Vinn says into Kayce’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Vinn,” Kayce replies, beaming proudly.

“Big K, gettin’ the D!” Vinn jokes, and Kayce snorts, pushing him away. “Am I right, though?”

Kayce clears his throat, face flushing. “We switch.”

Vinn bursts out laughing. “I didn’t expect you to actually answer the question!” he gasps. “Kudos for being so open, man!”

“Where do you live nowadays?” Scottie chimes in.

“In the country, a couple hours away,” Kayce responds. “Right by a forest.”

“Very fitting,” Vinn comments. “You look like a lumberjack.”

Kayce laughs. “I did grow a beard, but I wanted to look clean today.” He rubs a hand over the neatly grown stubble on his face. It does, indeed, make him look a bit like a lumberjack, especially when taking the boots and flannel jacket into consideration too.

“How did you meet your husband?” Scottie asks quietly. Kayce looks over at him, and his eyes flood with fondness.

“I met him at boarding school, actually. We stayed friends for, like, three years before I realized I… liked him.”

“When did you marry?” Scottie asks.

Kayce laughs and scratches the back of his neck. “Last month, actually.”

The neighbors could probably hear Vinn’s loud, exaggerated gasp. “And you didn’t invite us?! I’m hurt! I’m shocked!” He fans his face dramatically and pretends to faint, falling into Scottie’s arms. Scottie struggles to hold him up, laughing.

Kayce laughs. “It was a really, really small wedding. Besides, back then I didn’t know where you guys were and I don’t think I would’ve been ready to face you.”

Vinn stands back up. “I get that.” He lets out a breath. “It’s really good to see you again. I know I’ve already said it, but I’m really proud of you.”

Kayce smiles widely. “I’m proud of you too, Vinn.” He looks over at a clock on the wall. “I should probably hit the road if I wanna get home in time for dinner.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small pad of paper and a pen, writing swiftly. “Here’s my new number and my address if you guys ever need anything, alright? I’d love to see you again.” He tears off the paper and hands it to Vinn, who glances at it.

“You know that phones do exist and have virtual notepads, right?”

Kayce scoffs. “I’m old-fashioned, whatever. I made this myself,” he says, holding up the pad of paper. Scottie’s jaw drops again.

“Holy shit, really?” Scottie asks, stepping closer and staring at the pad of paper.

Kayce laughs, endeared by Scottie’s excitement. “Yeah! I look like a lumberjack, why not work with wood in my freetime?”

“You already do,” Vinn says, wiggling his eyebrows.

Kayce laughs loudly. “Damn, you got me there.” He holds out his arms. “Bro hug?”

“Bro hug.” Vinn gives Kayce one last hug, patting him on the back three times in the signature ‘no-homo’ fashion. 

Kayce turns to Scottie, opening his arms as a nervous invitation. Scottie smiles, hugging Kayce tightly. With that, Kayce is on his way and the apartment is quiet once more.

“Damn,” Vinn says once the door closes. “Never woulda thought he was gay.”

Scottie can’t help but crack up. “Are you kidding me?”

Vinn raises an eyebrow at Scottie, sitting down on the couch. Scottie plops himself down in Vinn’s lap.

“Internalized homophobia,” Scottie explains. “That’s why he bullied gay people.”

Vinn blinks. “Whoa. I never even thought about that.”

“Yep! I think I heard that President Hoover was gay, and he was really hard on gay people. One of the strictest and most stingy presidents when it came to gay rights.”

“Wow.”

“Don’t quote me on that, though. I could be very wrong.”

“I will make sure to quote you on that at every available opportunity,” Vinn says simply. Scottie sticks his tongue out, and Vinn pokes it back into his mouth, surprising Scottie.

“What the fuck!” Scottie laughs, nearly falling off of Vinn’s lap as Vinn hurries to hold him up. “That’s some weird shit!”

“You’re telling me we haven’t done weird shit before?” Vinn asks, laughing.

“Fair enough.” Scottie tames his laughter and looks at Vinn, his eyes lidded. “Didn’t you say something earlier about banging?”

“I certainly did,” Vinn responds with a coy smile, leaning in to kiss Scottie.

Scottie pulls away briefly. “I wish I’d seen Kayce’s wedding,” he says quietly.

“Well you’ll still be around for Rory and Holland’s, won’t you?”

Scottie chuckles. “If they ever stop pining after each other and just go for it already.”

“Oh shit, we might be dead by then.”

Scottie grins, kissing Vinn on the cheek before diverting his attention back to Vinn’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end.
> 
> (this isn't actually the end i'm gonna make some spin-off shit dfgjnbjksd i hope you guys enjoyed and i LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH you've given my life meaning and worth!!)


	25. Annoying Author's Note

Hello!

First I'd just like to say that while this story may be over, the world that it's set in still exists. Vinn and Scottie have had their happily ever after, so why not explore several other characters?  
Remember Rory and Holland? No? Well, I don't blame you. They were mentioned like twice. However, I have big plans for their characters! Please give Catholic Girl a read and subscribe to see my feeble attempts at humor~  


https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899770/chapters/34509462

Or, you can find it on my profile ^^


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